Limit Breaker: Fūjin no Ōdachi
by DarkHeroOrion
Summary: The gods of the past cast the stone in the time stream to stir up the many ripples within the flow. An epic tale awaits a young boy who will break the limits brought down on him, through perseverance and determination. Fusion fic; AU; contains OFC
1. Night of Regret, Night of Discovery

_Limit Breaker: Fūjin no Ōdachi_

風神の大太刀

_By: DarkHeroOrion_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any elements of the manga, for that matter. Naruto belongs under the ownership of one Kishimoto Masashi. I do not own any elements from the Mortal Kombat series, for they fall under the copyright protection laws of Midway Entertainment; most specifically, Ed Boon and John Tobias. To further add on, I do not own any claims to the facets found either in the Final Fantasy or Ninja Gaiden gaming series, for they belong under the copyrighted protection laws of Square Enix and Team Ninja (including the publication rights by Tecmo and Eidos Interactive), respectively._

_I do, however, own some of the created techniques, and this disclaimer will continue throughout this fic._

_Age Disclaimer: This story will contain subject matter not suitable for those under the age of sixteen or for those that find strong language, graphic violence (death and injury included), and sexual behavior (i.e. rape, nudity and sexual intercourse) distasteful or very offensive._

Here is my text legend, of which I assume you already know:

"This is speech."

_'This is a thought process.'_

_The italics without quotation marks are used for dreams, flashback narration and text-related material._

**"This is the speech of a summoned creature, sentient, non-human entity or bijū."**

**_'This is the thought process of a summoned creature, sentient, non-human entity or bijū.' This also applies to disembodied spirit speech, without the quotation marks._**

**"This is the speech of a demon-host merger or the fusion of a mortal figure with an otherworldly power."**

**Premise: The elemental deities involve themselves into human affairs, originally thought to have been against proper protocol, by casting a stone into the stream of time, causing many ripples within the sporadic flow. From their actions alone, one boy will rise to the occasion and ultimately shatter the limits that have been placed on him from early childhood, through dedicated resolve and guts. Fusion fic; AU (Strong Naruto) – contains OFC**

This is another potential fic in the making, depending on the reception that it may get. I aim to please, and I hope that this opener will be better than my first fic, _Birth of a Legend: The Fox Druid_. This isn't in any shape or form a rehashed opener that follows closely to canon.

Mini-Disclaimer: The clock in this fic will run on **military time** (synonymous with **railway time** or **astronomical time**, depending on the country), so the scene changes will have the time placements in that standard, aside from the ante-meridian (am) and post-meridian (pm) time frame. For those who don't know, let me give you a brief detail on it. It's not that hard to understand. Military time runs on the standard **24-hour clock** notation system, with the hours of the day represented from 00 to 23.

**This chapter has been edited as of 18 December 2011.**

**_Chapter One:_**_ Night of Regret, Night of Discovery_

(Shinobi District, 0300 hours)

A cool breeze wafted through the still air surrounding Konohagakure no Sato—the Village Hidden among Tree Leaves, on the twenty-second of September, approximately seven years after the horrendous natural disaster embodied as the demon fox-spirit, the Kyūbi no Yōko, arrived on the scene.

The stars glimmered in vibrant hues along the spectra of white, blue, yellow and red. Some foliage rustled here and there, with the occasional hooting of the nocturnal owls. Serenity penetrated the empty night, with no one in sight. The atmosphere felt a little too peaceful, especially regarding a land filled with shinobi. It was an unsettling tranquility, to say the least. Silence has always been deceptive, and a silent ninja village during the late night was never a good thing, especially when the amount of guards remained few and limited…

The sound of frantic rapping broke through the eerie calm of the night…

"Hokage-sama!"

There had been no answer, save for the hanging stillness…

The obscure figure pounded away on the door of the Sarutobi complex.

"Hokage-sama, this is highly important!" shouted the masculine shadow. "Open up, right now!" The figure was heavily panting, which had been indicative of his flustered state. In fact, he was panicking. All he wanted…no, _had_ to do was to inform their village leader of the situation at hand. He ran his hands through his upturned dark hair in frustration. What was taking him so long? It was of utmost importance…

The silence was chipped away as the sound of a dead bolt clanked and echoed around the forested area surrounding the large, multi-chambered domain.

The door flew open, revealing none other than the Sandaime Hokage, himself, garbed in the red and white robes, along with the matching conical hat with the kanji for 'fire' embroidered onto its brim. A marred frown was etched upon his wrinkled visage as the faint light from the interior danced about his aged body. The wizened Fire Shadow's gaze seemed to pierce through the figure's tinted sunglasses.

"Do you mind answering me as to why you have disrupted my quiet time, Aoba?" Sarutobi asked as he stared into his helper's face. "This had better be important."

_'And why in the world are you wearing sunglasses at night…?'_ he asked himself in afterthought.

"Hokage-sama, it is," Yamashiro Aoba responded with a normal tone while kneeling into a bow, adjusting said sunglasses with his right hand. "In fact, there is a big problem. We had a witness report in, just now, that someone is in progress of slaughtering the Uchiha clan…"

The Third Fire Shadow's eyes shot open and became fully aware. He swore to the many kami that the execution was scheduled for _tomorrow_ night. Why did it get moved to an earlier time? Who initiated the order, outside of his signature?

"In addition, Hokage-sama," Aoba interrupted as he looked up into the old one's face, "we have ANBU on the case at this very moment. They should be checking for any leads or evidence…and, quite possibly, survivors…"

He mentally sighed as the headache began to creep into his aged skull. He was very vehement and adamant in his belief on the act of genocide, and he preferred the more peaceful alternative to given situations. It was a sad thing to say that his voice of opinion fell on deaf ears. He was the only dissenter to the entire political farce. Having a humanitarian philosophy, Sarutobi felt that not all of the Uchiha had been banding together to overthrow Konoha, especially considering the outcasts and young ones that have not achieved their clan's birthright – the vaunted kekkei genkai known as the Sharingan.

It was a moot point, for he had to intervene as soon as possible. His dark eyes narrowed and a large pressure surrounded the area. He had a few wrinkled hides to tear apart after all was said and done…

"When I get to my office," Sarutobi spoke in a grave tone. Aoba winced a bit on account of witnessing the tone of a hard-edged Hokage that commanded unbridled respect, "send the Elder Council to me in one hour. For now, I'll see what is going on for the time being." Sarutobi closed his door, locked it and teleported away via a Konoha Shunshin to the Uchiha district, in a violent zephyr of leaves.

Aoba released an unconsciously held breath, watching the foliage dance around in a frenzy-enriched ballet. It took a lot to ruffle the feathers of the Professor, and that seemed to be his breaking point. The Council carried out the order of the Uchiha extermination before Sarutobi-sama declared it with his stamp of approval…

A pure act of treason was under way and in progress…

_'May the kami have mercy on those dead souls walking,'_ Aoba thought. The Tokubetsu Jōnin chuckled to himself as he lightly shook his head.

He found the situation ironic, in a way. Gone were the summer days and the chill of winter would be on the horizon. It was the evening following the autumnal equinox, the intermediate season of melancholy and decline. The symbolism that he had read in poetry as a kid made him think inwardly in self-reflection regarding the matter of the moment.

He performed a simple Shunshin to gather the potential violators with one thought on his mind…

_'Did the change of season _really _predict the fall of the Uchiha…?'_

XXXXXXXXXX

(Sarutobi residence, 0305)

Due to the sudden emergency call, Sarutobi failed to realize that he was taking care of his surrogate grandson, a young boy with boundless energy. An electrical fire, due to faulty wiring, incinerated his residence on the outskirts of town several weeks prior, and he had nowhere to go due to his unspoken burden.

After the door shut and the lock clicked in place, his sensitive hearing had kicked in, causing the sun-kissed blond boy to awaken on his makeshift futon. His blue eyes were on full alert as he glanced around the candlelit living room. The cerulean orbs of the juvenile lad spoke volumes of curiosity and inquisition. His caretaker was nowhere in sight.

"Jijii," the boy called out in a murmur. He rubbed his eyes in a groggily fashion as he righted himself. It was surprising for him to get up at the current hour. Normally, he would be deep in dreams by now. The blond boy removed himself from his temporary sleeping arrangement to peruse around the empty cottage.

"Jiisan?" the probing kid asked, this time a bit louder in intonation. "Jiisan, where are you?"

The boy started to become misty-eyed. He was getting those sentiments again; the ever-repressed feelings of hopelessness, loneliness and abandonment. But the old man would never desert him…Would he? He was like a grandfather to him in all his times of need and solace.

The young boy wiped his eyes on his exposed arm and steeled his resolve. He promised to himself that he was not going to cry anymore. He straightened up his dark-hued nightshirt and continued to search for the old man.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Uchiha District, same time)

It was a sad, gruesome view to behold. Amidst the blood-tainted avenue were limbs and bits of flesh. One body in particular was twisted and contorted to inhuman forms along the pavement, with a spine bent to impossible angles. A generic civilian would have heaved his or her stomach contents due to the smell of copper-enriched blood, along with the smell of rapidly decaying corpses. But, for on-duty shinobi that were hardened by battle, the quiet panorama of chaos was ordinary…almost mild, to an extent.

"Are there any survivors?" Sarutobi asked one of the ANBU Black Ops that had made it to the scene prior to his appearance.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," replied a dog-masked operative with upturned spiky hair. He was at full attention, instead of showing his typically aloof personality. "There are several survivors, actually." The masked agent turned to the Hokage, who was standing to his left, as the glow of the last-quarter moon accentuated his silvery-gray hair.

"Do you mind relaying me the information regarding the survivors?" The Professor asked with a wary eye while also looking around simultaneously. "My preference would be to walk as we talk…quietly."

The masked man nodded his head as he shifted his gaze from his leader to the stained street. He began to walk at a leisurely pace, with the Hokage matching his relaxed gait.

"There were four children who have lasted through the ordeal, and for what reason, I don't know," 'Inu' began, mentally sighing in relief for the umpteenth time. "In fact, the troubling case had been that three of them were hidden very well in crates and barrels, and it was by luck that Pakkun sniffed them out for me." Inwardly, he owed it to his late teammate for keeping his kin safe and sound, by any means necessary. He felt as if he were graced by the kami for discovering that there were more that made it safely.

"What are their current conditions? How were they when you found them?"

"They seemed to have been placed under a hypnosis genjutsu, if I can conjecture correctly from the rest of my nin-ken. It was a powerful one, at that. I'm not even sure if a ninja could produce that strong of a signature without interfering with the chakra network…" The masked man scratched his scalp in deliberation before gathering more of his notions. "In any case, the rest of my hounds are guarding them as we speak."

Sarutobi paused in his step to process his thoughts as the dog-masked agent followed suit. Something seemed a bit...off…when it came to the genocide case. It felt as if there were stronger forces at work, but he would have to confront the senior members of the council to get their side of the story. In that manner, he could draw up a reasonable judgment call.

A thought occurred to him. He said that _three_ of the four were hidden…

"What about the fourth Uchiha survivor?" the Sandaime asked.

'Inu' conceivably winced a bit. Due to his experienced eye, the God of Shinobi picked up on his ninja's uneasiness. "As for the fourth…He was also subjected to genjutsu, but…" He trailed off as he looked up at the half-moon.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "Well, what's the dilemma?"

"Unfortunately, it seemed to be a bit more negative when in comparison to the other three illusions. His chakra flow was distorted beyond all sense of logic. My guess would be that, from the traces of an unnaturally strong chakra, the Sharingan was the culprit in the case of the young boy."

The Professor nodded. "I see. Are you trying to say that it was the work of the _Mangekyō_ Sharingan, Kakashi?"

The now-identified Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi sighed behind his mask, while also concealing his defeated look. "I'm afraid so, Hokage-sama. It was a gut feeling from my first analysis with my own implanted Sharingan."

Sarutobi took in the verbal evidence as he looked around, catching a very faint and life-like signature some distance away. It was _him_.

"Give me enough detail on each of the four Uchiha and send it to my office post-haste, Kakashi. I also want you and your squad to safeguard the four with your lives. Take them anywhere out of sight from here."

Kakashi of the Sharingan nodded minutely. "Yes, Hokage-sama…"

The gray-haired shinobi disappeared in a wisp of light, white smoke.

The Sandaime Hokage heavily sighed.

_'I'm getting too old to keep up with this…'_ he thought to himself before registering a faint chakra signature that was expertly concealed. Sarutobi had an instinctive foresight to see a bit into the future, and he concluded that the perpetrator would soon revisit the scene of the catastrophe. However, the catalyst was acting on orders that worked against the Professor's way of thinking. He could not hold the culprit accountable.

The Third Generation Fire Shadow looked around and found no one in sight, with the exception of the hidden figure. He closed his wrinkled eyes as he took out his pipe from underneath his robes.

"I will call for you when I am ready to speak with you," he sternly said as he meticulously poured some tobacco into the wooden implement. "Until then, stay out of sight."

As soon as he lit his pipe with a minor Katon jutsu, the Professor disappeared in a softer flurry of leaves.

Hidden amidst some shrubbery, a pair of crimson eyes looked on for a reflective minute before they vanished…

XXXXXXXXXX

(Sarutobi Lodge, 0340)

It was quiet around the Hokage's home…

…a little too quiet…

The effervescent blond child could not get back to sleep, for he had that nagging feeling in the back of his mind…

He desired comfort, due to the fact that he had been bereft of it when he was ousted from the orphanage roughly two years ago. He missed _some_ of the kindhearted caretakers but could have been better off without the ones that treated him bitterly. The blond child did not know the cause behind the awkward resentment…

Shaking off the thoughts of yesteryear, he pressed onward.

Wandering around the premises, the blue-eyed boy found an ordinary door, made of polished oak, which was partially ajar. With curiosity getting the better of his judgment, he nudged open the entrance and peered in with one of his cerulean orbs. Nothing was in view due to the fact that the entire room was pitch-black.

"Jijii, are you in here?" he asked in a low, exasperated whisper, so as to not disturb anyone around the grounds. His frustration, however, was somewhat evident by the tone of his voice.

As soon as the blond child pushed in the door on its hinges, a motion sensor was breached, causing the overhead lights to turn on automatically. The bright illumination, in contrast to the dim candlelight, made the blond boy cover his sensitive, dilated pupils, in order to readjust to the novel lighting.

It took a solid ten seconds for the little child to become accustomed to the changed setting, blinking rapidly for good measure.

As he looked around, the blue-eyed youngster took note of the small dimensions of the room. It was a quaint chamber with a desk that was nestled in the far center. On said desk were loose papers scattered about in an unkempt fashion. Lining three of the four walls were shelves that contained various collections of reading material.

_'Hey, this is Jijii's study,'_ he thought with a definitive nod and squinted eyes. It was not like that he was forbidden to enter. The old man never mentioned to him about it. That could have been the reason why the old man disappeared for hours on end when he was not at the Hokage mansion.

He also muttered under his breath at one point about 'a thorn in his side' before disappearing, but the kid passed it off as a bad reaction to something that the old man ate. But why would Jijii be in the study and not the bathroom…? Was there a secret entryway to a private toilet…?

Stirring from his ever-wayward thinking, the blond-haired child frowned a bit. Readingwas neither his innate ability nor his forte, and he never received a textbook from his sensei at theNinjaAcademy. To further add on, his calligraphy was sloppy, yet it was passable for a first-year ninja-in-training.

_'Eh, might as well catch up for lost time,'_ the kid thought to himself as he rummaged through the shelves with his forefinger. He had nothing else better to do during the early morning, aside from setting up the occasional prank or two.

The kid hummed while rubbing together his hands. _'Maybe there could be some good material for the prankster in here…'_

After cycling through the nethermost rows of books for the first time, he did not catch anything of noteworthy interest. On his second time around, as he glanced up, he caught sight of a standoffish manuscript…

It was orange; his favorite color and it had a set of red katakana printed down the spine.

Flanking the volume's sides were two other books; a red, tattered tome on the left and a blue paperback on the right. Each of the books had no sort of inscription or writing along the bindings.

The blond kid sat down in a cross-legged manner as his face scrunched up in thought, thinking of a way to climb the shelves without ruining the resting place of the others….

That was, until he caught sight of the old man's chair near his desk…

_'Jackpot…'_

XXXXXXXXXX

(HokageTower, 0400)

Three figures were gathered at a rectangular table, holding up their heads in a self-proclaimed regard. They were seated in three of the six mahogany chairs. At first, they, along with Sarutobi, were thinking about ordering tatami mats for the office setting. They opted against that, due to the fact that their old, weary bones could not take being on their haunches for the majority of the time.

"Do you think that this was the right decision?" an elderly, feminine voice asked, which cut through the thick tension among the trio. "Do you know what this means at all?""

"I honestly believe that it was for the best," said a voice, devoid of emotion. "It was the optimum route to take, with minimal risks."

"Hmph," snorted the third body, obviously male, "says the warmonger that makes rash and disputable actions for the 'sake of Konoha,' instead of making peaceful negotiations. Sarutobi will have our heads for this."

The second masculine figure narrowed his cold, hardened eye as he gripped his cane. "I was within my limits of jurisdiction, and Itachi served me well under 'Root,' as the Uchiha plant for the annihilation…"

"Do you think that this was a bit…hasty and underhanded, Danzō?" the woman asked.

"Yes, do tell…Koharu, Homura, and Danzō…"

The trio was forced to end their conversation as the Hokage appeared without a sound, holding back a lot of killer intent. He exuded an unimaginable air of dignity that simultaneously felt overbearing and subtle.

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes in a threatening gesture, almost daring the others to say another word. "There is much to discuss…especially regarding the case of acting outside my order."

XXXXXXXXXX

(Meanwhile, at the Sarutobi Residence…)

After making use of the old man's chair, the blond lad brushed off the dirt from the cushion and pushed back the chair to its proper position.

"Okay, let's get down to business," he said as he stared down at the three books strewn on the hardwood floor. The blue-eyed boy decided to save his favorite colored book as the last thing to read.

_'Now…Which one to pick…?'_

His cerulean irises turned to the large, ragged volume on the far left and decided to crack open its contents.

As he skimmed through the first preliminary pages, the blond-haired lad took notice of the worn-out appearance on each of them. Stains and burned marks littered each leaf of paper. Some of the faded text up until the preface verified the issue regarding its age.

_'It must be as old as the old man,'_ he believed with a conclusive nod. _'Yeah, that's it. If not, then maybe it's older…'_

The kid turned over one page to read the introduction of the nameless text, sans credible author.

It did not reveal much of anything, except many different kanji that appeared in inconsistent shapes and sizes. However, one set of characters piqued the boy's interest…

_'Ninjutsu…'_

He flipped the page in haste and decided to delve a little into what the book had to offer…

_The arts of the ninja may seem like smoke, mirrors and revolving around secrecy and stealth, but a true practitioner of ninjutsu can interpret what is hidden below the surface, like the characters on the preceding page…_

The blond-haired boy assumed a quizzical look on his face. _'What in the world does that mean?'_ He continued to read…

_If you are one of those that have no clue with what was mentioned, then you obviously failed to see 'underneath the underneath.' In that case, you may not be fit to be a shinobi…_

The youngster's face took on a scoffed look, almost as if the book was mocking his intelligence, or lack thereof.

He idolized the Hokage for their bravery, especially of the tale of the Yondaime Hokage as the slayer of the Kyūbi. He especially admired Jijii for actually giving a damn about him and helped him when he was without a home, after his flat burned down. He did not know how to outwardly thank the old man. Those were a couple of reasons as to why the youngster wanted to become Hokage, the strongest ninja within the Hidden Leaf Village, so he could be the one to put his life on the line for his homeland.

In any case, he continued to read…

_In the Ancient World, a true shinobi in the realm of ninjutsu utilized his skills to apply it to the hardships of life. One's own heart was willed through the edge of his blade; his perseverance stood unwavering as an ultimate defense; his cleansed spirit, in tandem with the inner workings of Nature, moved mountains and carved out aquatic bodies…_

_Knowledge, inner strength, enlightenment, endurance, survival…These facets alone do not skim the surface of a ninja's life…_

His eyes held within them a slight hint of curiosity. "Hm…" The blue-eyed lad turned over another page and read another puzzling passage:

_Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that of the forest. Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt…_

"Eh?" he asked to himself. He heaved a sigh. "I'll ask Ojiisan about this later."

He moved aside the ancient manuscript in a delicate fashion. The heavens forbid what would happen if he damaged something like that. There were aged scriptures that were compiled into a full collection; a hodgepodge of literature waiting to be interpreted and explicated.

His cerulean orbs had then turned to a flimsier handbook. It was a blue-toned paperback.

He fumbled through the material until he came across a ragtag depiction of the human body. However, the image was not comprised of veins, but…of something else, which was made with small circles placed at even intervals. He could not quite pinpoint what he was trying to think. The boy looked up at the diagram's title.

_'Chakra…Network…What's that?'_

His answer was solved when he turned the page.

_Essential to even the most basic of ninja arts, _chakra_ is the mixture of the energy present in every cell of the body (also known as _corporeal potential_, the latent potential found on an intracellular level) and the spiritual energy gained from exercise and experience (commonly referred to as _ki_, the purest form of spiritual essence that exists within all living matter). Once mixed, it can be channeled through the chakra circulatory system, which is an equivalent to the regular circulatory system guiding blood, to any of the three hundred sixty-one chakra points (alternative known as tenketsu) in the body…_

_By mixing different ratios of the two energies, new types of chakra can be formed. The most common product is elemental chakra, which is used to perform elemental techniques…_

He frowned even more as he continued to browse the words. He did not understand the last bit pertaining to elemental chakra theory, so he closed the book before his head exploded.

_'Okay…I've saved the best for last…'_

The blue-eyed child filtered through the oddly-colored book and began to peruse through some boring passages, trying to find some good pranks to execute on some of the unexpected sour-pusses that were haggling him most of the time at the Academy. The boy vowed that they would soon receive their comeuppance…Damn bullies…

_'Let's see if this gives me any tips on how to beat those jerks to a pulp…'_

He paused to carefully read a specific entry…

_Jūbun nipped at the velvety flesh of Yume's collarbone and caressed her milky globes, bringing forth a gasp of delight as he pinched and rolled the hardened pink gems above._

_"Jūbun," she gasped as she arched her back. "Do it now!"_

_Instead of answering, he bent down to kiss her lovingly, stealing her breath as she huffed in mirthful enjoyment. As gently as he dared, he placed the embodiment of his love at her moistened, soft and silky folds and began to slide into her warm embrace. He felt her part open and accept his love hungrily, greedily and in desperation as she wrapped her legs around Jūbun's waist._

_Together, Yume and Jūbun breathed and reveled in their love together. The world around them faded as they lost sight of all but themselves. Their bodies glistening in the low light and their eyes reflecting and shining back the love and caring for one another._

_"Yu-Yume!" Jūbun cried out._

_"Jūbun! More!"_

_Each thrust of his passion brought forth pleading and delighted gasps from Yume as she shook in their pleasure together. Jūbun watched in delight and happiness as Yume arched her back and screamed out in carnal satisfaction as she reached the pinnacle of her incredible climax, never feeling more alive than with that gift from her love as he, too, filled her with his creamy seed and collapsed beside her, maintaining a firm embrace._

_"I love you, Yume-koi."_

_Yume giggled and kissed him soundly on the cheek._

_"I love you, too, Jūbun-kun." She basked in the afterglow as she nuzzled against his mountainous muscles…_

"What the hell is this?" he asked out loud before groaning. That was not any practical joke fodder in that hefty novel. He scratched his head and scrunched up his face. "I think I read a cake recipe or something…"

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing in my personal library?"

The blond-haired kid froze in place…

XXXXXXXXXX

(Sarutobi complex, 0500)

Sarutobi entered into his cozy abode and heavily sighed in frustration. His blood was still boiling on account of the debacle from the hour previous…

_The four elder shinobi of Konoha exchanged bitter words for the past ten minutes while restraining as much of their frustration as possible, knowing that it was a delicate and very formal situation._

_"Sarutobi," a bespectacled man spoke, "I know that you are upset, but we have acted within reason, given the circumstances."_

_Sarutobi raised his eyebrows in soft surprise. "Care to elaborate on the matter at hand, Homura?"_

_"We had a report filed in, several weeks ago," the lone woman of the group chimed in while redirecting Sarutobi's attention to her. "The report had been from several ANBU agents on patrol, and it pertained to an Uchiha murdering a civilian family…"_

_The Third Fire Shadow felt as if treachery was afoot. "The Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai is to report directly to me and the operatives operate under my command. They do _not _report to my advisors, Koharu."_

_"He belonged to my division of the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, Sarutobi," Danzō said, his face devoid of sentiment. "There has been more evidence aside from that incident as well…" The impassive militarist unveiled a manila folder and scooted it across the table._

_Sarutobi warily accepted the unassuming set of documents. The papers revealed further atrocities of the Uchiha clan, ranging from embezzlement to rape…_

_"And why weren't these called to my attention?" he asked with a serious face._

_"With all due respect, Sarutobi," Homura spoke up as he shifted in place due to the hard visage on his former teammate, "Danzō sought to it as less of…a grievance on your behalf, knowing that you have more important matters to tend to."_

_"The fact remains that I still should not have been made ignorant of this problem," Sarutobi spoke with an imperturbable façade. "Being unaware of anything in the shinobi world can potentially put our village at risk of destruction, and you know that."_

_"Regardless, it matters not," Koharu spoke with a slight edge to her voice, smoothing out the leaking aggression within the room. "It is a moot topic of debate. All of the Uchiha have been exterminated, save for Itachi…"_

_The trio turned to Sarutobi. He was…chuckling slightly as he took a puff of his pipe. "I would not be sure of that, Koharu. In fact, four children made it through safely…"_

_Sarutobi caught a glimpse of their astounded looks before they schooled them due to many years of training._

_"I think that we should eliminate them while they're still incapacitated," Danzō stated. "They would only further their blemish on Konoha's society."_

_"Well, I am afraid that you cannot do that," Sarutobi interrupted as his face returned to a business-appropriate gaze. "They are now under my code of protection, as well as the last of their clan. I can tell that, by the ones who have endured, they are alive for a reason. I feel as if they are the ones that are innocent…"_

_The warmonger snorted. "Your delusions of grandeur and righteousness delude your already flawed reasoning…"_

_Koharu and Homura chose to remain silent, each one giving the other a nod in concordance to remain that way._

_Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at the war hawk. He and Danzō were as immiscible as oil and water; each one shared clashing beliefs on what was right for Konoha. One was driven to lead by compassion and camaraderie; the other was driven to rule by an iron fist and hard logic. The Will of Fire pitted itself against the Will of the Iron Shadow…_

_"And this is where our differences in opinion lie," the Professor flatly stated. "How can you jump to the conclusion that the children would follow their parents in the developing coup d'état?"_

_"It's so simple that even a blind two-year old can see it," Danzō deadpanned while leveling his stare at the village leader. "Hate begets hate, and it festers downward. The children pick up on the subtle actions of the adults, for they are the role models."_

_The Sandaime frowned ever so slightly. "Well, what about the Uchiha that have lived piously and absolutely devoted to the village?"_

_"They were the ones with smiles on their faces and knives behind their backs, waiting for you to let down your guard…"_

_"That is just preposterous. Your logic is flawed beyond reason, Danzō. I can evidently tell that you are the paranoid one, even more so than my predecessors with allowing the Uchiha clan to co-sign the pact to the founding of Konoha. There was still some good in that clan, but your foggy vision could not see that, I presume."_

_"Redemption of lost souls had been a pipe dream within that corrupted clan. You just do not realize what the consequences may be if you let them live." Danzō's fierce look made Sarutobi narrow his eyes in caution. "Your fueled sentiments for the innately good-natured have gotten the better of _your _clouded judgment, Hiruzen…"_

_The Professor adopted an icy tone in his speech as he maintained his levelheaded expression. "…Remember who is in charge here. You are pushing your limits with your power…Don't make me force my hand…"_

_"And you are treading a fine line with housing Uzumaki Naruto; Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi, due to a mishap in the building's wiring system. On account of that, your public popularity has dropped considerably. Furthermore, you have enrolled him at the Ninja Academy at the tender age of six. I would suggest for you to choose your political moves a bit more wisely, if I were you…"_

_"I have my reasons for what I did, but I will not disclose them. That is final."_

_Homura coughed into his hands to divert the looming hostility. He needed to speak up before someone made a rash decision at the spur of the moment. "I think that Sarutobi taking in the Uchiha children would be a welcomed addition. The kids love the Hokage, so I do not see as to why they should be killed. They were chosen to live. Let us let sleeping dogs lie for now."_

_"I stand in agreement with Homura on this one," Koharu added as she looked around the room. "It would give Sarutobi more credibility, thus gaining a slight boost in public notoriety."_

_Sarutobi sighed. He could feel that headache creeping in. Two was enough…but_ four more _mouths to feed? If they were as…hyperactive as Konohamaru and Naruto, then his hair would probably fall out…or, whatever was left of it, anyway._

_"I will ponder on that for later," Sarutobi stated as he rubbed his temples, puffing away on his pipe, "but, for now…"_

_The Third Generation Fire Shadow held up a hand, indicating a discreet gesture for the hidden ANBU present._

_Said ANBU surrounded the war hawk and held him in place. Two of the agents flanking his sides held special shackles and clamped them on his forearms to inhibit chakra use._

_"There is the punishment for your insubordination," Sarutobi remarked with a solid glare, knowing that he was not taking the situation lightly. He looked up at the five ninja in the porcelain masks of the Boar, Rooster, Dragon, Tiger and…Dog?_

_"Inu-san, would you be as kind as to explain your presence, knowing that you have an active mission already in progress?" he asked._

_"I'm just a Kage Bunshin, Hokage-sama," he drawled as he held a firm grip on Danzō's right shoulder. "The original is guarding the quartet of surviving Uchiha." Dawning some realization, he fished out a scroll from his pocket and tossed it to the Hokage. "The original asked me to deliver this to you, sir."_

_Schooling his confused appearance and adroitly catching the rolled-up parchment, Sarutobi carried out _his_ order. "You will be confined to a holding cell until I come up with a proper ruling for acting out against my order. As of this moment, 'Root' is hereby disbanded indefinitely. Take him away!"_

_In a flash, all five shinobi and the war hawk, along with the chair, disappeared in clouds of smoke._

_He had then turned to his two advisors. "And as for you two, I must disband this council temporarily while I settle some issues first. However, that does not mean that you are getting away scot-free. Even if you were my teammates, I must act within my limitations as the active Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato. You are free to leave…for now, but you will be monitored from henceforth."_

_Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura decided to take that window of opportunity to leave as soon as possible._

_Sarutobi felt that presence before; that strong chakra…_

_"You may reveal yourself now, Itachi-kun…"_

_"Yes, Hokage-sama…"_

_A hunched-over, cloaked figure in a kneeling position appeared from out of the shadows._

_"You do know the ramifications of what you have done, correct?" the Professor asked as he reached into his drawer, keeping a wary eye on the Uchiha._

_The crouching effigy stood upright, revealing part of his short, brunet locks. His red eyes were very disturbing. The triple-tomoe pattern on the irises gave him a haunting appearance._

_However, Uchiha Itachi's crimson orbs were absent of all humanlike emotion. Such was the effect of ANBU 'Root' training, the Professor surmised._

_"Yes," Itachi responded in a cold, flat voice, completely oblivious to the blood dripping from his ANBU uniform._

'So, my final mission starts now…' _the now-renounced Konoha ninja gravely thought._

_"Effective as of the twenty-second of September, at four-forty-five, you will be declared as a nuke-nin of Konohagakure no Sato," Sarutobi announced as he annulled Itachi's Konoha ninja status with his desk stamp. "I wished that things could have turned out better than this way. I know that it was not your fault…"_

_"Hokage-sama," Itachi reasoned as he made his way to the exit, "it was an absolute necessity for the good of the village. Nothing more…and nothing less."_

_The Sandaime Hokage pondered about his state of mind. The young kid seemed to have taken it well…_

_"Before I leave, I have a request, Hokage-sama."_

_"…I am all ears, Itachi…"_

_"If Danzō-sama ever lays his hands on my foolish little brother, then I will personally administer his fiasco of a plan to every Elemental Country known to shinobi and civilian alike."_

_Sarutobi was wary with the blackmail, for he would be in trouble if that bit of news was ever exposed, too. "…And what of the other three…?"_

_Itachi said nothing as he walked out of the door, keeping his back to the Hokage, and vanished into thin air…_

The Sandaime Hokage had a lot to think over. He needed to relax because he was tired of hashing out unwanted disputes.

Sarutobi was about to retire to his bedroom until he caught the bright light coming from his personal study. He turned to his left and noticed the vacant cot…

"Naruto…" His pipe almost dropped from his mouth as he quickly held it in place.

Walking with experienced stealth, Sarutobi crept up on the kid, who had what appeared to be…

_'Oh…The little kid's just only reading. It's no big deal…'_

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing in my personal library?" he asked as the blond child froze on the spot. He lightheartedly laughed with mirth.

_'I still got it,'_ Sarutobi mused as he put away the now-empty pipe.

The boy, now identified as Uzumaki Naruto, turned to his surrogate grandfather with a shamefaced grin on his visage…

_'I'm so busted…'_ he thought. "Hey, Jijii, I was looking all over for you. Where were you?"

"I was…" He paused. That Naruto was a clever one, all right. "Answer my question first, and I'll answer yours. Deal?"

Naruto nodded. "Mhm."

"Now, then, what were you doing in my study, Naruto?"

He blinked a bit before resuming his skimming. "Eh, just some light reading…'feeding my brain,' as you typically say." Naruto's face had then assumed a dark appearance. "I didn't get a textbook from Takeshi-sensei, yet, so I had read the material this way…" The façade was in place and Naruto's frown hastily converted to a grin. "That is, if that is okay with you, old man…"

Sarutobi's eyebrow arched slightly, knowing that it was a pained smile. "Has there…been anything else occurring, Naruto? You're free to talk to me about it."

The blue-eyed boy scratched his whisker-marked cheek, deep in thought. "These meanies keep picking on me…"

"Why is that, Naruto?"

"I don't know…" Naruto looked up, bewildered. "They just won't leave me alone…"

It was the Sandaime Hokage that then assumed the darker expression. "Okay. Now, then, what has your sensei, Takeshi, taught you?"

Naruto shrugged. "He didn't teach me anything, and whenever I ask something, I just get sent outside for no reason…or he just ignores me for someone else's attention. It's no big deal, really. I use that time to practice my shuriken and kunai throwing…"

He murmured under his breath, "Even if it's still sloppy, though…"

The Sandaime Hokage pinched the bridge of his nose. Hopefully, it was not another migraine coming along. He would have to ask his surrogate grandson some more questions later on in the morning. It was too late to deal with his situation while tackling his own.

Naruto was then hit with some wandering thoughts. Maybe the old man could answer his questions…

"Say, Jijii…" Naruto shifted a little where he sat on the hardwood floor.

"Yes, Naruto?" he asked, creeping headache foregone.

He scanned for some of the mysterious words in the weird 'cookbook.' The title and color of the book was yet to be seen by the old man, for it was positioned at an odd angle. "What's a '_pinnacle_'?"

_'Oh, so that was it, huh?'_ he thought with a smile on his face. "A pinnacle is the highest or uppermost or level of something."

Naruto bobbed his head in comprehension. He turned to where Sarutobi caught a clear view of the book that the youngster was holding. His eyebrows shot up to his brow-line as Naruto pointed to a spot in the incriminating piece of literature. Naruto's face was in that scrunched-up, vulpine countenance. "…What's a _climax_?"

Sarutobi owlishly blinked for a few seconds before regaining his composure. He would have to dance around that particular topic by giving the alternate connotation.

"A climax is…er, a key moment. It is the most important or exciting point in something, such as a story, for example. It typically comes between rising and falling actions…" He tapered off in his miniature speech, actually catching the subtle, double entendre. _'Shit…'_

"Ah…" It was like a light-bulb flashing over Naruto's head. "Um, would that be similar to this girl in the cookbook screaming out—?"

"No, no, you got it all wrong, Naruto!" Sarutobi interrupted as he waved his hands in a defensive manner.

_'Cookbook…?_' He paused to rub his temples and pondered deeply. How was he going to acquire _that_ book from his proxy grandson?

A wicked thought soon crept into the recesses of his mind. This would certainly trick any naïve youngster, especially Naruto.

"I think that you should get some more sleep, Naruto. It's going to be a long day…"

Naruto groaned. "But, old man…I'm not even tired…"

Sarutobi's smirk grew a bit as he caught the young one, hook, line and sinker. "If you don't go to bed, then I won't take you out for ramen later on this afternoon…"

That did the trick, but he felt somewhat guilty for manipulating Naruto's attention span like that.

_'He'll live…'_

Naruto was out of his little office like a flash, leaving a miniature cloud of dust.

"Ramen, ramen, ramen," Naruto chanted as he hopped into his makeshift bed before falling fast asleep. The Hokage slowly blinked before rubbing his hairline…

Shaking himself from the rare occurrence, he turned to pick up his copy of Icha-Icha from the floor, along with the other two books.

He sighed. He should have known better than to leave an inquisitive youngster like Naruto all by his lonesome, especially due to the fact that there were some things that he should not touch in his study. Icha-Icha was a prime example that should have been out of the kid's reach.

For the time being, he tucked the adult erotica under his flowing robes. He would have to move around some things…well, relocate his literary smut as a gift from his former student.

The Third Fire Shadow closed his study door, making sure that Naruto did not interrupt his precious 'quiet time.'

As he moved at an unhurried pace, a myriad of thoughts littered his mind…

_'Danzō…'_

He was Sarutobi's nemesis within the realm of Konoha's governance. His 'Root' Division had shown for it. If he could not have his power as Sandaime Hokage, then he found the alternative route by making himself close to Hokage as possible by commanding troops under a different ANBU branch.

He crossed the line, and now he would suffer the aftermath of his impetuous dealings in the Uchiha Massacre, of which was, in and of itself, a failure in his opinion. He knew what he had to do there…

_'Koharu and Homura…'_

He had no idea that they would agree to it. And they thought _he_ was the senile one…

_'Should I not hold back, or should I have mercy?'_

Since the warmonger played a direct hand in the affairs of the Uchiha, he could not warrant for a more severe justice unto his former comrades-at-arms. They were the ones who were swayed by Danzō's misguided logic; however, Sarutobi knew when to be unforgiving and this very moment halfway sealed the deal on that course of action.

_'The Uchiha…'_

Sarutobi slouched in his chair and pulled out the scroll given to him by Kakashi. He carefully glanced at the small piece of parchment wrapped in his aged digits.

_'Where would the fate of the Uchiha lie…?'_

He unraveled the document and skimmed down the short list of remaining Uchiha, memorizing it along the way, before he burned the contents.

And finally, Naruto's situation at the Ninja Academy posed another problem…

_'Should he be removed and be taught outside the Academy? Or should he remain there in that realm of subliminal torment, with the possibility of diminishing his growth?'_

He reached into a drawer underneath his desk, quietly thanking the kami for wonderful secretaries, and pulled out the dossier of the man in question. He scanned his record…

_Kachū Takeshi  
Rank: Chūnin  
Age: 22  
Date of Birth: 19 November  
Special skills: Projectile weaponry…_

There really was not much glaring speculation to read on Takeshi…except for the fact that his parents were killed roughly seven years ago on the tenth of October.

The Professor's frown deepened. _'So that explains it…'_

It was a crying shame that most of the villagers directed their fervent hatred toward the boy just so they could sleep easier. Minato would be beyond pissed at the village where he laid down his life. The boy should be seen as a hero for containing the wretched beast.

Naruto was a cursed blessing and a blessed curse at the same time. He was a blessing for being a newborn, but cursed on the day the Kyūbi rampaged through the Hidden Leaf's outskirts. He was then further hexed with the burden to contain its raw power. To the villagers, he was an accursed reminder of that fateful day; however, they should know that the boy was not the demon in human form.

Sometimes, he wondered about the sanity of the village…

In any case, Sarutobi had a lot of decisions on his full platter. He had one definite choice in his mind. As for the others, he was stuck.

_'For each of my verdicts, there are two roads that diverge, and I can only take one route, being the only traveler…'_

There were two options to each of the contingency plans when the originals fell through.

After a brief few minutes, he came to his conclusions. He decided to take another path, where he would not lie to himself for sticking to his beliefs.

He decided to take the route less traveled by in the shinobi world…

…Hopefully, _that_ would make all the difference…

_'I'll implement them later. For now, I need rest…'_

XXXXXXXXXX  
(Unknown location)

A glimmering, golden structure floated in the vast expanses of the inky-black void. The architecture appeared to be futuristic, as well as ancient all together. The design was shaped to resemble a pyramid, and it consisted of four pillars along the four corners of the building. There were transparent spheres on each of the enlarged towers, with one kanji symbol engraved onto them. Said kanji were representative of four elements: water, wind, fire and earth. At the apex of the pyramid-like construction, there was a levitating dome of equal proportion with the kanji for 'thunder' incised on the outside.

"Well, the stage is set," a disembodied alto voice rang out into nothingness.

Soon after, the fire column erupted in a glorious blaze of effervescent crimson. The fire soon died down to reveal a curvy, ethereal figure with vermilion locks of hair. Said strands of hair were neatly arranged into an intricate ponytail.

"All I have to do now is wait for the others to show up in this hellhole of the Nexus," the figure remarked as she tapped what appeared to be her bare feet. Her lips were paved into a frown as her arms were set akimbo on her matching kimono. What the hell had been keeping the others? She had other things to do, instead of being summoned at will into the central hub among the other existing realms.

She did have a life outside of deified duty, after all…

"Hijin," a baritone voice boomed as the one known as Hijin turned to her left.

It appeared that her timing was impeccable, after all…

_'Finally,'_ the redhead pondered while rolling her eyes.

The western pillar glittered in an earthly-green hue before a burly effigy materialized on top of his sphere of influence. The spoiled scowl on his wide face proved that he was beyond livid.

"Ah, Dojin, what a pleasant surprise," Hijin said while clapping together her hands before shrugging her shoulders in disinterest. "Well, not really." Her face frowned a bit. "What the hell took you so long? Could you not fit into your fucking pants or something?"

"Shut your mouth, you inexperienced whelp!" the one known as Dojin barked. Who was she to rush a god of his caliber? _He_ was not the newly appointed divine being that acted out of his realm of influence. "I do not see as to how come you wanted to hasten this already-volatile situation to begin with."

The Earth God shook his head as his brunet mane of hair flowed seamlessly from left to right. He looked up and glared into the goddess' carmine irises. "For starters, you are a goddess and your actions can potentially disrupt the balance of power…"

The Fire Goddess was obviously inattentive, for she turned to look in another direction. She was not being considerate.

_'The nerve of her! That headstrong wench!'_ the Earth God surmised in restrained fury.

His brown eyes narrowed close to slits as his voice echoed throughout the void. "Pay attention while I'm addressing you, damn it!"

"Huh?" Hijin turned and blinked a few times before donning a jaded look on her tanned face. She scratched the back of her head.

"I'm sorry," she replied apathetically. "I kind of zoned out there for a bit. What were you saying again, Dojin?"

_'If she weren't immortal, then I would have killed her ages ago,'_ Dojin thought as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He wished that he had his giant axe to cut down the hotheaded broad. _'Another day, I suppose…'_

"Before you drifted off to your own little world, I was trying to say that what you do affects the rest of the gods as well. And you were hasty for going through on a half-baked whim, which is why we are showing up in no particular order…"

Hijin displayed a half-assed cheeky grin. "All I wanted to do was to just set in motion the chain of events. You do know what _they_ are up against, right? Why not have those kids prepared sooner than later? That was my reasoning…"

"I know that, and it does make sense," Dojin coolly responded, "but I just think that you're moving things a little too quickly…"

"Dojin-san is correct, you know…"

Dojin and Hijin put their conversation on hold as they turned to the pillar of the East Wing of the Nexus. The column's kanji lit up in a dazzling sky blue hue. A spiraling gust of wind channeled up the length of the support. Another god joined the dispute…

The new arrival appeared as a translucent effigy with long white hair, bound together into a ponytail similar to his counterpart of theSouthTower. His white eyes shifted to the two gods that preceded him to the Nexus on the Ethereal Plane.

"You did not have to perform such a rash action, Hijin-san," the newcomer spoke while the addressed fire deity shrugged off the minor reprimand. He sighed a bit before continuing. "It matters not; what's done is done, but this may lead to some minor or drastic consequences on the future of events."

"What makes you say so, Fūjin?" Dojin asked with arms crossed against his large chest.

"On that, I'm not certain," the Wind God replied with furled eyebrows, "but I do know this: we should let Nature run its course, and were we to do so, it will equalize itself in due time…"

The three deities heard something akin to peals of thunder when Fūjin trailed off in his explanation. The three ethereal entities had to shield their eyes when a flash of lightning appeared from out of nowhere and crash-landed on the centermost orb.

"What is the meaning of this disturbance?" the new deity asked as his overwhelming essence peered through the crackling sparkles. The only notable features were his white eyes, golden coolie hat and complementary quarterstaff harnessed upon his back.

"I see that you've felt the imbalance as well, dear brother," Fūjin commented with a serious look donned upon his face.

Hijin slightly widened her eyes in mild interest. "It finally took you a goddamn eternity, Raiden-_sama_," she jeered.

The entity known as Raiden cut his eyes to the Fire Goddess as the pressure around the construct seemed to increase by a gravity factor of three. Along with the added force, Hijin withered under the Thunder God's calculating eyes. The murderous aura that he emitted would have easily killed a standard _genin_ if directed in a more focused manner.

"As long I remain here, you will show me the _proper_ respect, rookie," Raiden commented. "Know your place in the state of things. I had Shinnok personally removed from the Godai Seijin, the one who had been in the same position that you are currently occupying, might I add, many millennia ago."

"Tch," Hijin snorted while sucking her teeth. She leveled her own gaze at the pompous God of Thunder. "Whatever. I know your history with the wayward Dark God. He was a member of the Five Great Holy Deities and tried to overtake Earth for his own selfish ambitions, but that's a disputable point. As long as I stay on this council, I have just as much equal footing as you do."

"So riled up, are we, my dear Hijin-chan? Learn to lighten up, will ya?" a new, lighter voice resonated as the kanji on theNorthTowerglittered in an aquamarine tone.

The Fire Goddess groaned inwardly when she heard the high-pitched giggling. _'Oh no…Not_ her _again…'_

After the character lit up, a swirling current of water appeared from nowhere and circulated from the base to the zenith of the pillar. Its movements were highly reminiscent of the fluid coiling of a serpent, poised to strike. From the 'snake's mouth,' an image parted through the roaring flow. The new addition emerged with a playful smirk on her feminine face. Her sapphire irises emanated volumes of mirth parallel to the copious amounts of liquid she single-handedly produced.

"Sorry I'm late," the last of the deities had said. Her sheepish grin reflected her shame in tardiness. "I was…tending to other matters…"

"You mean, shaving your legs, Suijin?" Hijin deadpanned. "I swear that you are such a material whore…"

The Fire Goddess felt as if the Nexus cooled down a few degrees as the smile on the one known as Suijin was wiped clean off her face. The Water Goddess' sapphire orbs seemed to emanate ice, itself.

"I like keeping my self-image, thank you very much, dear little sister," Suijin retorted with a hand on her hip as she brushed back her unnaturally blue strands. "Unlike someone I know with a disgusting boil on her ass…"

Hijin fumed. That bitch, who was unfortunately her elder sister, had the nerve to bring up such…personal information inside of a Council meeting.

Scarlet flames erupted on the South column as she threateningly pointed to Suijin. "How dare you, Onee-chan! I ought to rip out that precious blue hair of yours like you did to me after we were born from the ether…"

"That was an accident!" she retorted as she pointed back.

Fūjin felt that he should interfere before the central world of existence was going to be torn apart by such unnecessary bickering.

"Let's…avoid the sibling rivalry, ladies," the Wind God spoke up to ease the high tension.

_'Was it really a good idea to put a set of brothers and sisters on this Council? What was the One Being thinking?'_ he pondered in thought.

"Nonetheless," Raiden piped in while looking around at the other Great Four, "I am concerned by the drastic changes as well." His set of white eyes stopped on a set of bored, blood-red irises. "Hijin made the impatience of man act before itself, causing the annihilation of the Uchiha clan to be pushed at an earlier time." His eyes moved to a pair of earthly brown. "This made Dojin step in to save some of the kindred souls of said clan. On that, I commend you." The God of Earth nodded slightly out of respect for his superior. "However, one matter has yet to be resolved: will this mean that the other side will act out, too? As the protector of Earth, I should be the most prepared."

"I have no clue, Raiden-sama," Dojin answered while stroking his beard. "On the other hand, I do know that the Prophecy is still maintaining its form. It matters not that we are choosing our champions wisely to combat what Shinnok has already set into action. The Prophecy will fulfill itself in due time, and there is no getting around that."

"No matter how many preventive measures we take, whether it may be _god_ or man, the flow of destiny is inevitable," Fūjin summarized alongside a patronizing undertone directed at the sole violator without looking in her direction. "That much is certain."

_'Say that to my face, you arrogant windbag!'_ Hijin mentally roared as her eyes became pointed.

"Uh…" Suijin guiltily smiled while scratching the back of her head. "What was the…er, Prophecy again, Raiden-sama?"

The Thunder God blinked a few times. One of his eyebrows slightly rose in veiled concern. "You didn't get the memorandum passed down from the One Being?"

The Water Goddess chuckled lightly. "I guess not. I must have been in the shower when it was delivered…My mistake…"

All of the gods, except for Suijin, had one large sweat-drop on the back of their scalps as they looked at her.

_'She must not be taking her job as seriously as she is supposed to be,'_ the Wind God thought as he exhaled a small, gusty breeze.

He focused part of his energy into his right palm. After a soft wind cyclone encased his limb, a tattered parchment was loosely gripped in his hand. "Here you go, Suijin-san, and try not to drench it."

Fūjin tossed the light scroll in Suijin's direction as she nimbly caught it. She made the fluid recede from the tower as she unraveled the piece of enchanted paper. The document, for the most part, was bare, bar a set of four poetic stanzas set in intricate meters. It read thusly:

_Beware foul demons, beasts and knaves;  
Thy time has come on Wind and Waves._

_The Red-Eyed Fallen, along with His Horde  
Will clash with the Hammer, the Spear and the Sword._

_The Sea of Clouds will split the earth,  
The Beautiful Harbor will part the sea,  
And Spiraling Maelstrom will slice the sky._

_Bearers of Light, shine for all of thy worth  
As gems, interwoven in destiny—  
May these heroes vanquish those who belie…_

The Water Goddess' eyes squinted. "Hmm…cryptic. But what does it mean?" She waved the scroll in the air as if it were foreign to her.

"Beforehand, I knew the answer," Dojin spoke up with arms crossed, "but on account of someone coming close to breaking the Deity Code of Conduct…" His eyes cut briefly to Hijin, who had a miffed look on her face.

"Okay, so I screwed up…once!" she barked. "So, why do you keep shoving that fact in my face, you big tub of lard?"

Dojin's vision returned to Suijin's nonplussed look, totally brushing off Hijin's side-jab regarding his hefty stature, and continued without being fazed. "…I personally don't know for the moment."

"There may be complications along the way; rough currents in the flow of Nature," the God of Wind said. "Let us hope that the decisions that we have made, or will make, be the correct ones."

"With that said, I will hereby adjourn this meeting," Raiden stated as he held up his quarterstaff. "Return to your positions and be on standby for any further developments." Lightning converged on the Thunder God's spot as he vanished in an echoing boom of one thousand thunderclaps.

Hijin snorted. "Fucking show-off…I'm out of here…"

"Be sure to get rid of that…little problem of yours, dear little sister," Suijin jabbed with a saccharine smile on her face while waving the hand with the document.

The Fire Goddess did not say anything…verbally. She did, however, give her older kin the middle finger and mouthed off two words before she disappeared in a glorious blaze of orange flames:

_Screw. You._

The Water Deity shook her head and chuckled. "I love doing that. Anyway, I'll take my leave of you, Dojin-san…Fūjin-kun…" She bowed to her counterpart in the West Wing, while winking to the one in the East, before she melted into puddles to join the rest of the withdrawing waves.

The Wind God slowly turned to the Deity of the Earth, both with owlish looks etched onto their faces. One topic came to their minds (as well as adding to their puzzled looks) before they evaporated and turned to dust, respectively.

_'Women sure are strange…'_

It was once again quiet in the void of the Ethereal Plane…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A/N**: Well, here is the pilot chapter that I have promised to those that have voted on the poll. And to those that were wondering about why I've not updated, this was what was up my sleeve, alongside my Fox Druid trilogy. This is what is taking the latest update a while. I had to get this out.

Allow me to take this opportunity to give credit/thanks to my pre-readers/quasi-betas for this opening chapter.

**Paladeus**

**madaziz**

**Jiran**

**Arashi the Solar Phoenix**

**pudgypudge**

I will also give credit to **Paladeus** for the lemon/Icha-Icha contribution, with some of my touch-ups added in, which was not a lot. The effort on his part was much appreciated, as well as proving who the bigger pervert is. I'm just joking.

Furthermore, I will give thanks to **Kizoku Seishin** for his thoughts on adding an age disclaimer, rather than giving a warning during the narration. With that stated, if you find any of the abovementioned material unpleasant and repulsive (or what I may write for later on), then I would advise you to not read further.

Here will be my slot for trivia questions. Hopefully, in this manner, I can get those that don't review to at least answer said questions. But alas, it could just be my wishful thinking. Anyway, here are my queries:

_Number One: "Let your rapidity…thunderbolt" is a revamped quote derived from what ancient Chinese military treatise? (You may need to do a bit of research on this one, and it was a quote taken from MK: Deadly Alliance's Konquest Mode, if you own the game.)_

_Number Two: The ending thoughts of Sarutobi are a reference to what poet and/or poem?_

**_Here is where my jutsu/Rōmaji guide will be located…Whenever new techniques or terms of paramount importance appear in the fic._**

**(No jutsu for this chapter, but some terminology is supplied.)**

血継限界 **Kekkei Genkai**: literally, 'a technique limited to inheritance by blood,' or 'bloodline limit'; abilities genetically passed down in specific clans; these traits cannot be copied or taught to anyone outside of those family branches

暗殺戦術特殊部隊 **Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai** (Special Assassination and Tactical Squad): also known by the shorter moniker of the ANBU or the Black Ops in English TV; ANBU are under direct control of their Kage, and they protect the village from exceptional threats, conduct high-risk missions into enemy countries, and deal with extremely strong ninja. They are also responsible for carrying out assassinations, tracking, surveillance, and missions requiring specially trained ninja. Some ANBU serve as interrogators that probe the minds of enemy ninja to learn information valuable to the village. It bears to note, even though most of you know this information, anyway.

根 **Ne (Root)**: a special branch of the ANBU founded by Shimura Danzō that focuses on completing missions that are believed to benefit Konoha. Root members are trained to abandon all forms of emotion in order to follow Danzō's orders unquestioningly. This ANBU division is also called The Foundation in some other sources.

五大聖神 **Godai Seijin (Five Great Holy Deities)**: created and led by Raiden, this organization is a divine council, in a sense, that aids in monitoring universal affairs (more will be covered at a later date)

**For all intents and purposes, I will use some of the abbreviated Japanese notation only in this fic:**

**ō = "oo" or "ou" (dependent on context, quite obviously); ū = "uu"**

Now, before I conclude my Author's Note, I would like to mention several things regarding this fic in the making.

**Number One: **For starters, let me cover my tracks.

For those that have been (or are) Mortal Kombat fans, I know that the One Being cannot exist when the realms are in existence and vice versa. But, for storyline purposes, I will claim artistic license on this discrepancy. It will be my omnipotent power…for the moment. I also took some concept art from the Protoss Nexus building in the sci-fi, real-time strategy game, _StarCraft_, developed by Blizzard Entertainment and made my own twists and variants on it. In short, it looks nothing like its MK counterpart.

**Number Two:** As you can tell, the pairing has not been decided at this current moment, since it's a fresh idea…and a complicated one at that. _I_ will have the final say in the pairing or polarizing character while I read what you have on your mind at the time. But, for all that is good and holy, **PLEASE** do **NOT**, under any condition, make this kind of statement:

**"Make it a Naruto X (insert female's name here) fic."**

That will be a one-way ticket to feigned ignorance on my part, especially to the one who made it. And please remember that the pairing does not a good story make. It only accentuates the quality of the story, which is dependent upon the author. In the case of a polar character opposite the main character, that is different (for example, The Golden Fox and its sequel have two characters for headliners, not as a pairing). Keep that in mind.

**_Bear in mind that, even though Naruto and Sarutobi are listed at the top of this fic, this story is NOT yaoi. As stated as the above in Point Two, and for further emphasis, the blond and the wizened Hokage are going to be main characters for this first segment of the story, as the groundwork is being framed and planned out. Hiruzen is the governor of change for Naruto's early childhood; hence, the reason why he has prominent appearances from here until the later segments._**

**Number Three:** Since this fic is in its embryonic development, I… (sigh)…will now entertain the floor for suggestions. However, take into consideration my rant on ideas, offers, propositions, et cetera. One thing that I ask for you to do is to word your thoughts in a manner where it doesn't seem to come off as inherent demands. Like always, some of the suggestions may go out of my realm of possibility. One caveat: since I am going at my own pace, **_do not rush me_**. **This is a "maybe fic," so if I do continue this, then updates _will_ be slow (I will also not be updating immediately after this chapter).**

**Number Four:** There are going to be original fan characters that _will be heavily involved_ in this fic (as you can already tell, save for the character concepts and mannerisms of Fujin and Raiden from the realm of Mortal Kombat). So, if you are not one of those aficionados for OFC, then exit this story in earnest (in layman's terms, **leave now**).

I know some of your innate dislikes to OFC running the show, but please read me out. Original fan characters should be embraced and enjoyed by the readers while also having characteristic flaws in their own right. I try to shy away from the Mary Sue/Gary Stu-esque entities (terms of which have been loosely thrown around on this site, for starters). In essence, a fic has to have OFC or go the route of AU in some regard, or else you'll be stuck with canon. Plus, I'm as good as an omniscient writer to place original fan characters where I see fit in my story.

**Number Five:** Following Point Four (stated above), I tried to be objective with placing women in power, and for that reason, I had decided to place in two goddesses, with both as foils of one another: Hijin and Suijin.

**In any case, aside from those points of interest, let me know what you think so far. Is it good/noteworthy/interesting/etc.? Would you read more into it?**


	2. Flawed Legacy

**A/N:** I know that it's been ages, but greetings, once again, from your friendly (for the most part) neighborhood Dark Hero. I hope that you've all had a wonderful start to the New Year.

Allow me to get whatever is on my mind out in the open. Apologies to those that detest my garrulous AN (foreword), but I have to 'clear the air.' It would also be in your best interest to see what is, or about, to take place.

To set the record straight from henceforth, this new fic of mine will be rated M for a reason. Not only will it contain adult matters and mature situations, but it will also contain an elevated style of vocabulary. For those that want new words to read, here will be your opportunity. So, in short, break out the dictionaries, you little kiddies.

From this moment onward, if you have any concerns regarding what I've missed, or have not explained thoroughly, then I will answer you with this:

"_Everything that has been (or will be) brought up will be settled/answered/resolved in future updates."_

This is an experimental fic of mine that has about as much (if not, more) complexity as my brainchildren trilogy. If this fan fiction continues, then it will more than likely be a two-part series. And since I've gotten a nice handful of reviews, this story is certainly going to continue.

I think that I'll keep the suggestions open until the fifth chapter or so. From there, I'll just take what I have and keep it going in its soon-to-be epic length. To give you the answer to my trivia questions:

"_Let your rapidity…thunderbolt" is a revamped quote derived from what ancient Chinese military treatise? (You may need to do a bit of research on this one, and it was a quote taken from MK: Deadly Alliance's Konquest Mode, if you own the game.)_

**Answer: "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu (or Sunzi, depending on Romanization)**

**The ones that answered this question correctly: Jiran, delta16669, Kizoku Seishin, Mr. Fix-It-NAO (formerly Vassago-Toxicity), Ashimodo, ThirdParty**

_The ending thoughts of Sarutobi are a reference to what poet and/or poem?_

'_For each of my verdicts, there are two roads that diverge, and I can only take one route, being the only traveler…'_

**Answer: "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost**

**The ones that answered this question correctly: Jiran, Kizoku Seishin, Mr. Fix-It-NAO (formerly Vassago-Toxicity), Inumiru**

**Be on the lookout for more trivia questions and/or Easter eggs.**

**Do not even try to decode the Prophecy, for it is still far too early. I may take the wind from out of your sails regarding that. You have been forewarned.**

Here is the next chapter of _Limit Breaker: Fūjin no Ōdachi…_

**This chapter has been edited and re-uploaded on 18 July 2010.**

_**Chapter Two**__: Flawed Legacy_

(Hokage's Office, 22 September, 1500 hours)

Wispy plumes of smoke lethargically drifted from the bowl of the calabash pipe.

The holder of the pipe puffed on it for a while before resuming his unbelievable workload. All the corners of his desk were covered in white sheets. From an artist's perception, Sarutobi had a miniature diorama of a metropolis that was awaiting him when he arrived during the midday.

In any case, refreshed and well-rested, Sarutobi Hiruzen pegged and hammered away at his overload of deskwork and papers; anything ranging from shinobi assignments to equipment inventory. Those were the easiest to sort through. There had been occasional stamps of approval here and there, with the seldom, outright rejections that appeared once in a blue moon.

As he sorted through the mounds of documents, with his pipe hanging idly from the purse of his lips, his dark eyes stopped on an unsigned manuscript…

It was the decree warranting Danzō's execution, made by his own hands.

A spoiled frown made its way onto his face. He did not want to resort to it, but his decision was final. Conversely, he decided to have his ANBU forces milk out some answers from the old war hawk, until his thirty-day waiting period elapsed. That was, if he would talk at all. He could also wrest control from the warmonger's division and integrate it with the rest of his squad.

He was never one for violence, after numerous incidents that he had been through in his very long life, within his tenure as Sandaime Hokage, for the past forty-two years, non-consecutively. He was ancient in comparison to the ninja standards. A small handful of shinobi hopefuls had never seen past their genin days.

In retrospect, the Professor should not have given Shimura Danzō that position, but the warmonger had forced his hand in the political realm. He had associates in high places, and he had kept very tight-lipped about his connections.

In restrained frustration, the Sandaime Hokage clenched one of his fists to the point where his knuckles turned white.

His rootless thoughts were interrupted by a soft series of taps on his office door.

"You may enter," he spoke in his kindhearted tone, expertly hiding his internal struggle.

The door creaked open, revealing one of his Chūnin assistants.

"Hokage-sama," the man started, "Hatake Kakashi-san would like to see you, if that is fine."

Sarutobi displayed an incredulous look before granting the Copy Ninja entrance with a courteous nod. Oddly enough, he was wearing his Jōnin attire.

"What seems to be the trouble, Kakashi?" the Professor asked as the ashen-haired shinobi approached the front of his desk. "And why have you dressed down into your former apparel?"

Kakashi decided to take a seat. "I've had a lot on my mind as of late, considering these recent developments," he spoke as he leaned in the chair. He seemed to be in contemplative thought.

"I see." The Hokage's brow furrowed a bit. This was not like the typical Kakashi that he had seen growing up. "This has to be in regard to the Uchiha children, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Copy-Ninja Kakashi replied with a lazy nod. "It turns out that there was more to the genjutsu on the first three, after all…"

The wizened old man's eyebrows shot up, almost close to rubbing the hairline of his scalp. "Well, this is something new. Do you wish to explain the situation?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama," he answered as he righted himself in the cozy chair. This was going to be a long, unofficial report. "To start off, a former apprentice of Rin—my ex-teammate—was analyzing the unconscious ones and broke the genjutsu with a tedious, chakra-intensive effort. Much to our astonishment, there had been a potential side effect."

Sarutobi puffed on his calabash pipe in partial exasperation. Kakashi was beating around the bush, instead of getting to the point. "And that would be…?" he asked, concealing his sprouting frustration.

"Most of their memories were wiped clean," Kakashi of the Sharingan answered, not skipping a beat. The Hokage's eyes widened a miniscule fraction from the blunt news. "It may have been a fail-safe to the illusions, were they to be broken, but the results are doubtful, at best. When they came to, they had no idea of who they were or why they were there. Other than that, the three are functional now and resting in the hospital.

"As for the fourth, one Uchiha Sasuke still remains in a comatose state at this current moment. He has yet to come to, much to the efforts of the Medical Corps."

"I see," Sarutobi remarked. "Do they at least know of their names, Kakashi?"

The Copy Ninja imperceptibly nodded again. "They only know their names, but not of their surnames, meaning that they don't know that they are of Uchiha blood. Once again, we don't know how that could happen. It is all speculation for now."

That seemed to fall _oddly_ convenient on the Hokage's fortune, as well as covering up the blunder of the Massacre from last night.

However, the Sandaime Hokage really wondered about that powerful illusory technique on the other three survivors. It appeared to be too intricate; something that an ordinary shinobi just could not do, even with enhancements. Hiruzen was too skeptical to believe that gods were at work as he spoke with the notorious Copy Ninja.

He decided to mold that thought at a later place and time.

There had to be another motive as to why this discussion was brought up.

"Any other, particular reason for as to why you have decided to make yourself known?" he asked to the silver-haired ninja in front of him.

Kakashi scooted a bit up in his seat, giving his full attention unto the village leader. "I'm here due to the fact that I want to…adopt all of the Uchiha, if that is a reasonable approach to settle the matter."

'_So that is how it is, huh?'_ the wizened Hokage thought to himself as he analyzed Kakashi's posture. _'Some unspoken, self-righteous duty for Obito…That must be it…'_

"As much as I would want to, Kakashi, I am afraid that you cannot adopt _all_ of them," Sarutobi began. He raised a hand to dissuade the Jōnin from interposing on what he had to say. "As strong as you are as a shinobi under my command, you may not be able to protect all of them. There are still denizens of this town that have some disdain for the Uchiha; just as much as those that admired them. Even though some don't speak openly about it, but there had been suspicion with regard to an Uchiha directing the Kyūbi no Yōko to attack Konoha."

"I'm aware of that, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said as his visible eye drooped by an insubstantial margin. "It's just that…"

"I understand your stance, Kakashi," Sarutobi interrupted, "and I will take some things into consideration." He displayed a ghost of a smirk before it was gone in an instant. "But, while you are here…"

The aged man rummaged through the documents that he had approved and handed it to the infamous scarecrow. "There is a mission that had recently come in. From what I could discern, there had been several reports of raided cargo caravans between our borders with Kumogakure. The assailants have yet to be identified, and the Raikage, in current good tidings with us, sent word for our aid in the matter. I want you and several others of your choosing to investigate the goings-on within this area."

Although the situation with the Hyūga had been resolved, it was still a tender subject matter to bring to light. The Yondaime Raikage informed him that it had been the wrongdoings of several of his clans that made their home there. However, the clans' behaviors reflected upon the credibility of their leader. For the most part, the Lightning Shadow brazenly walked on egg shells with his reputation on the line, from Hiruzen's standpoint. He still did not trust that man, but he would grin and bear it…for now.

Nevertheless, the wizened Fire Shadow procured a map from out of nowhere and showed Kakashi the marked spot on it. "This is the site of supposition, located near our demilitarized zone, with which I assume that you must be familiar."

"But that's…" The one-eyed shinobi remarked with his widened orb. Said eye darted to the Hokage's resolute face. "That's a buffer zone; neutral territory, even. Any intrusion of any forces bound by the treaty is against protocol…"

"…Which is why it is going to be a _joint_ effort on our part, Kumo included," Sarutobi added. "There is more in that envelope regarding the parameters of the mission. You are to use stealth only. You are denied the right to use jutsu, unless you have been spotted. That is all I have for you, Kakashi. You and your team are to leave in four days, if not stated otherwise. You are hereby dismissed."

Kakashi remained at ease for the moment as he stood up and made his way to the door, adopting his bored posture. Once outside the office, the Copy Ninja made a half-hand seal before disappearing in a puff of smoke. He had to gear up for the journey ahead.

Sarutobi sighed. He seemed to be doing a lot of that as of late. No sooner had Kakashi left that he made a quick sweep of his hand to bring attention to one of his cloaked ANBU.

"You called, Hokage-sama?" the masked figure asked. The hefty Black Operative donned an ox mask.

"Yes," he answered seriously, "as a matter of fact, I did." Hiruzen pulled a sheet of paper and hastily scribbled down some barely legible addresses. "I want you to investigate at these locations and bring me whatever you find. This will be a standard search and seizure mission. Use storage scrolls when necessary." He held out the slip for his shrouded agent to take.

"Very well, Hokage-sama. I will do as you ask."

The ox-masked operative vanished in a lighter wisp of white vapor, not unlike the recently departed Hatake Kakashi.

Sarutobi cracked his weary and gnarled knuckles, picked up his rubber desk stamp and pounded away at the workload. He had to finish up in order to draw up a charter regarding the recent events.

The wrinkled Fire Shadow also wondered about the little hellions that he had dumped on…er, left with his fourteen-year-old granddaughter, Shizuka.

He hoped that she was at least hanging in there…

XXXXXXXXXX

(Hatake residence, 1630)

The famous (or notorious, to some of his enemies) Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi, was in his apartment, grabbing whatever essentials he needed for the upcoming mission. Even if the assignment was several days away, it was best to pack well in advance. It has been known that some dates could be moved up, on account of some sudden developments. Such was the life of shinobi…

After carefully sorting storage scrolls for rations, attire, and equipment, he slowly scanned his place with precision, in case he forgot anything. His jaded eye stopped on an invaluable heirloom that had yet to be fixed, resting on its alabaster sword stand, held loosely together within the confines of a white cloth. How in the world did he forget to get _that_ repaired?

…A trip to the local forge was at hand, and he hoped that he still had time before it closed around five in the afternoon.

By good fortune, it was located in the market district, which had not been far from his dwelling. It would have taken a civilian thirty minutes to walk there, from his apartment complex, but with the rooftop as an unspoken expressway to Konoha ninja, the fastest time that he could get there would be in about ten minutes, give or take several seconds.

Not wasting any time, he carefully inserted the damaged tantō into an empty parchment and dashed to the shop in question.

XXXXXXXXXX

The ashen-haired masked man strolled past a few merchants that were locking their doors for the evening. He knew that it was located around here somewhere. It was a nondescript building amidst the plaza. The store essentially hid in plain sight, and it was known that a handful of shinobi would miss it on the first trip.

"Ah, Kakashi-kun, you made it before I closed up shop," a spry, middle-aged man said, calling the attention of the Jōnin. His mirthful, gray eyes looked into the placid hazel of Kakashi's exposed orb as he exited his depot. His intonation had a husky tone to it. "Five minutes to spare, it would seem. What can I do for you today?" The burly man paused to wipe the beads of sweat lining his brow.

Kakashi immediately recognized the man with a brunet ponytail, and his locks were edged with gray on account of his age of fifty summers. The muscular gent wore a red polo shirt and blue jeans designed for the typical workman, but the outfit was covered by a tough, flame-retardant apron.

He was an old family friend to his late father…Kase Tetsumaru, owner of the quaint business known as the Tankō Ironworks.

"Well, Kase-san, I would really appreciate it if you can fix this with the best, possible metal that you have readily available," Kakashi evenly stated while unraveling an unmarked scroll from the inside of his flak jacket. With a quick utterance of the release command, the blade in question popped out on top of the parchment with a plume of vapor.

Tetsumaru's eyes widened a fraction on account of seeing that relic. It was a nostalgic blast from the past. "Oh…You want me to fix your father's Hakkō Chakura Tō," the stout blacksmith commented. It was not a question. "How'd it get recovered? I thought that dirk was considered lost during the campaign of the Third Great Shinobi World War."

"Minato-sensei recovered the short sword while I was unconscious," the Copy Ninja responded. "He handed it back to me after I had come to…after…Obito…"

Tetsumaru held up a hand to stop the now-dejected ninja. It was rather unbecoming of him to sulk, especially in public. He thought that Sakumo's son would have put that regret behind him, or, at the very least, completely suppressed it. "Say no more, Kakashi-kun. I take it that you were too busy with missions to get it fixed, correct?"

Kakashi dismally nodded, without saying a word.

"It's been seven years since I've seen that blade, you know."

"Things can be forgotten over time, Kase-san…"

"Hm…I'll see what I can do. When is your next mission?"

"It will be in four days, Kase-san, unless I get called for duty before then."

"Well, then, I am certain that there will be a shipment of metals in about two days or so, given that the embargo ended with the Valley of Ore a week ago."

Kakashi offered the old gentleman a low bow. "Thank you very much, Kase-san. It is much appreciated."

"It's not a problem at all, Kakashi-kun. I owed your father my life before my retirement, you know…" He gave the younger male a sad smile while placing a strong hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Even if he was a ninja, he was also a brave man, and he had earned my respect." The rather placid chap heaved a sigh. "But, in any case, I must be getting home to my wife and children. Good day to you, young Hatake, and take care." Stating his farewell, the burly ironsmith parted ways by walking at a leisurely pace to the civilian residential districts.

With his objective for the day out of his hands, Kakashi turned at an about face and walked at his unhurried gait, contemplating about numerous issues—one of which culminated into one, simple question…

Who were going to be the strongmen (or women, he corrected himself) to aid him in the upcoming, designated task?

XXXXXXXXXX

(Sarutobi residence, 1730)

Hiruzen finished sooner than what he had expected. It was once in a blue moon that the Sandaime Hokage never had to worry about working overtime at the Tower. He surmised that he had been on autopilot with that desk stamp. Other than the infiltration mission that he administered to Kakashi, there had been no more, which was very out of the ordinary, in the old man's opinion.

Once home, and with several hand seals, the wizened elder transported his Fire Shadow garb onto a wire hanger, of which had been lying in one of the chestnut oak chairs in the communal dining room. Underneath the Hokage robes, the style of clothing consisted of a pair of dark slacks and a turtleneck of sorts. Even though it appeared to be normal, chained-wire mesh lined the inside of each article. It was a precaution measure to be on the safe side of things. In the Sandaime Hokage's words, one could never be too prepared…or too careful.

Approaching the closet near the entryway, Hiruzen could have sworn that he heard slight ruffling behind the door. Sure enough, when he twisted the knob to open the Western-style door, his puzzled look found its way, down to his granddaughter. Unfortunately, her normally fair-skinned face was awash in red. The poor girl was hanging upside-down, bandaged in medicinal wraps as if she were being prepared for mummification.

To say that the Sandaime Hokage was amused would have put it lightly.

"Hanging around, Shizuka-chan?" he asked, mirth leaking into his voice. His smirk could easily be seen around his smoking implement.

"Not…funny…Ojiisama…" the young Sarutobi said between steady huffs. "Please…get me…down from here…before I…pass out again…"

With a quick swipe of his deft hand, the ties that bound her were severed, and she tersely landed in an undignified heap, rear end in the air. It was by fortune that she chose not to wear a skirt (who knew how embarrassing that would have been?); instead, she had on a pair of blue sweatpants with a sunny, yellow T-shirt.

"So, I take it that Konohamaru-kun and Naruto were at fault for your…predicament?"

The young girl groused to herself about 'eccentric family members' before she answered her grandfather. The scowl on Shizuka's visage never let up as she steadied herself on her bare feet. If it had not been for his skill in masking his emotions, then the wizened Fire Shadow would have given into his inhibitions and laughed at his granddaughter's long, disheveled hair. "Yes, Ojiisama. Those troublemakers gave me nothing but pure hell when you left me. You're an evil old man, you know that?" She made emphasis by pointing at him.

"I thought you were capable for the job of babysitting," Sarutobi offhandedly commented.

"Well, how would you like it if you were tied up for hours on end, huh?" Shizuka barked.

The elder mulled it over. "Fair enough," Hiruzen answered, inwardly grimacing if he were in his granddaughter's place. "You make a valid point. On the other hand, I could have easily gotten out of those wraps on my own…"

"Of course you could!" she screamed, vein pulsing by her temples. "You're the Hokage, for cryin' out loud!"

The wizened Fire Shadow wanted to shake his head at her expense, but he decided not to do so. It must have taken a good amount of effort by the rapscallions to vex the unfortunate brunette.

"Okay, then," he said. "I won't make fun of your quandary, anymore. Speaking of the little hell-raisers, where are they?"

Shizuka grinned until it stretched across the bottom of her face. Hiruzen knew that nothing good would come from what she was about to say. "Why, I believe that they are in your study, Ojiisama…" she sweetly responded.

The Third Fire Shadow frowned. "I should punish you…" Shizuka winced. "However, that must be karma paying me a visit. Now, if you'll excuse me, Shizuka-chan, I have a couple of kids to track down." He disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Left alone, the juvenile brunette ran to the kitchen area to prepare some chamomile tea. It was well deserved, after the ordeal that she had gone through.

She wondered to herself just how she happened to be born into the odd Sarutobi clan.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sarutobi heard giggles and snickers from behind his study door. He steeled himself for what kind of mischief was waiting for him on the other side.

He peeked in to see the two brats reading, yet again, another book.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, Ko-kun, just the two that I would like to see," Sarutobi spoke kindly, causing the delinquent duo to jump in surprise.

"Hey, Jijii, you scared us!" Naruto shouted while also voicing the thoughts of his 'little brother.' "Anyway, what's up?"

"I see that first-aid lessons aren't going so well with you, it seems," he uttered. His face became neutral. "I would like to discuss with you regarding your tutelage as an Academy student…" Hiruzen's dark orbs looked briefly at his biological grandson. "…alone…"

Taking the hint, Konohamaru stood up and waddled off to parts unknown, leaving Naruto-nii and Ojii-chan to themselves.

After Konohamaru clumsily closed the door, Naruto turned to the old man. "So, Jijii, what do you want to know?"

Sarutobi noticed Naruto's clueless expression.

"Not what to know, Naruto, but I need to know," the Professor answered cryptically. "Tell me of your troubles. There is no need to hide anything of which I should be made aware." The wrinkled man felt somewhat ashamed of himself for neglecting the Yondaime's legacy for so long. He was held up among other affairs, so Naruto's condition and…maltreatment…were kindly swept aside; lost in the tide of previous obligations and abrupt events. Hiruzen supposed that this was the time granted to him for redeeming his moral transgressions, for he should not have taken a laissez-faire approach to the boy's upbringing.

Having realistic foresight, Sarutobi could probably imagine, several years from now, an attention-starved, troublemaking pre-teen in a vibrant, orange jumpsuit, roaring to the skies that he wanted to become Hokage, were he left to tend to his own devices. If his practical jokes were anything like what he had seen, then, projecting outward, Naruto would have probably done the unthinkable, such as defacing the Hokage Monument. Hiruzen paused for a moment and cringed, ever so slightly.

As long as the boy was under his roof, as an unspoken Sarutobi, he would only allow Naruto a negligible amount of his favorite tone. Maybe he could persuade the kid to move to a burnt orange, for it was easier on the eyes…or, perhaps, forego said hue, all together…

Even more so, he should also do something with regard to curbing Naruto's penchant to pulling pranks, such as keeping him occupied in his free time with more constructive activities…

In addition, his involvement now could garner beneficial results, for it would prevent tarnishing the current standing of his clan within the Hidden Leaf Village…

At any rate, he was stirred from his thoughts when Naruto began to relay his experiences for the past several months enrolled at the Academy.

With each minute gone, the aged Fire Shadow frowned more and more as his proxy grandson talked…and talked…and talked…

If Hiruzen had access to a sword at the moment, then heads would begin to roll…immediately…

The Sandaime Hokage was livid.

'_I will settle all this within a week's time…'_

XXXXXXXXXX

(Hidden Leaf Village Proper, Main Gate, 26 September, 1200 hours)

Kakashi checked in with the sentries at their post, signifying his departure time.

"Wow, Kakashi-san…You're actually a little early today," a shaggy-haired Chūnin on duty spoke. "What's the occasion?" He turned his bandaged face to the masked ninja in front of his partner at the gate.

"I'm leading a squad of four ninja to an infiltration assignment, Kotetsu," he boringly replied, carefully leaving out where he was headed. Who knew who could be listening, from where he stood? "I was designated as the role of captain, since I chose who were to be my soldiers. They should arrive within the hour of departure."

"Their names, please, Hatake-san?" the other guard queried as he started to write on the clipboard that he currently had on hand. Said other patrol had a bandana covering the majority of his dark brown hair. A wayward bang covered his right eye from view.

"Maito Gai, Uzuki Yūgao, and Tenzō will be accompanying me, Izumo."

A few scratches and scribbles were made before he slyly smirked. "Okay, I think that is all. You and your team are cleared for leaving. Be sure to check back in at the gate upon your arrival."

'_I know the drill,'_ the cyclopean shinobi cynically mused as he meted out a courteous nod in their direction.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Hokage Tower, Office, Time: 1314)

"Hokage-sama, Kachū Takeshi has been summoned, as per your command," one of the guardsmen announced as he cracked open the door.

"Send him in," he spoke, holding back most of his ire. It would be unsuitable of him to lash out at one of those under his command. When he had taken the Fire Shadow Oath, he swore to uphold a sense of neutrality among his foot soldiers. He was to never display nepotism or partiality of any kind.

It was certain, the Professor surmised, that he had shown favoritism when he was in the service as a Jōnin-sensei. Even though he was the vaunted genius, Hiruzen made many gaffes that had cost him dearly. Such were the errors of most, if not, all, supposed shinobi masterminds or prodigies; they generally made more oversights than the norm, whereas they overestimated their own skills while downplaying their opponents, too.

Age, indeed, was one of the best tools of wisdom, and hindsight was twenty-twenty.

He started to get sidetracked in his aimless musings. Sarutobi shook off his thoughts to focus on this upcoming matter. "Please, have a seat, Takeshi." He motioned with his hand.

The young man in question had deep, rusty-colored locks, dancing about like vagrant embers that were covering his spiky scalp. The person known as Takeshi possessed a pair of sage-green eyes not unlike his Chūnin vest. He was not pale, nor was he dark-skinned, either; he had a wheat-toned complexion similar to that of most of the Konoha inhabitants.

Seeing Sarutobi's neutral expression, in Takeshi's eyes, was not good. "You…wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did," Hiruzen answered as politely as he could. He sounded like a broken record when people asked that similar question. "I want to know how your students are coming along."

The redhead mentally sighed. He thought that he was in very hot water. "All of my students are doing well, actually. So far, there haven't been any serious problems, as of late."

"I see," the Sandaime mumbled. "Then, may I ask for specifics? Say, for instance, about Uzumaki Naruto?"

It was then that Hiruzen perceived what appeared to be a flash of anger that quickly passed through the emerald orbs of the man in front of him. Other than that, Takeshi's face remained impassive. "That de-…kid has been nothing but trouble."

'_Damn,'_ the Chūnin thought. _'That was close…'_

The Professor was now unimpressed. That slip of the tongue cemented what he assumed to be Takeshi's thoughts of his surrogate grandson. He appeared to have sided with the civilian population with that kind of mentality. Most of the soldiers under his command were indifferent, at best, when it came to the tender subject of the demon vessel.

"What has he done to harbor your dislike of him?"

'_Other than living and taking away my parents?'_ Takeshi menacingly mused. "The boy has interrupted class countless times, and, furthermore, the brat has even picked a fight with one of the best Academy students from the current crop of genin hopefuls."

"Are you saying that he blatantly instigated a scuffle with Hyūga Neji of the Cadet Branch?"

"Yes, that is correct, Hokage-sama."

That was not what Sarutobi had heard from Naruto. In fact, Naruto's story had been the other way around. After a practice bout, Naruto was trounced by the older kid. He added insult to injury by berating the downed blond, saying to him that it was fate that he would never succeed in this dog-eat-dog world.

Even when not fighting, Neji would intentionally go out of his way to initiate harrowing encounters with his proxy of a grandson.

Hiruzen marginally frowned. He seemed to be doing that regularly, along with puffing long sighs. From what he could tell, Neji was the worst kind of tormentor; the psychological bully that manipulated the tortured, belittling them to the point where they would feel so low in the realm of self-confidence.

The kid had irrevocably changed after his father, Hyūga Hizashi, was utilized as a bargaining chip to satiate the Hidden Cloud.

The morbidly cruel joke was on them that the seal on Hizashi's forehead sealed away the secrets of the Byakugan, thus making those highly-coveted orbs ineffective.

Nevertheless, Sarutobi could not pinpoint on what was the 'true' story. Essentially, it was Naruto's word against those of the auburn-haired Chūnin in the seat in front of his desk. Each one was the polar opposite of the other.

"And where was your fellow assistant during these situations?" Sarutobi asked.

"I sent him on a few errands," he vaguely replied.

"That seems to be oddly convenient on your part, Takeshi …"

"Just what, exactly, are you insinuating, Hokage-sama?" the redhead queried with a guarded tone. "That I'm lying to you? Why would I ever do that to a superior, much less the person whose pay roll I'm on?"

He noticed that the man was being defensive. He appeared to be getting flustered. "Oftentimes, adults do things that they may regret, in due time. Children generally don't know better and often tell the truth, unless someone older than they are tells them not to do so."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and cast his hardened look at Takeshi. Said Chūnin was sweating profusely. To think that the Hokage could make him come close to urinating in his pants with just a stony gaze was beyond words. "I have several ANBU stationed and cloaked within this room, monitoring your heart rate, breathing patterns and body language." The Sandaime Hokage held up two fingers, signaling his agents to drop their camouflaging genjutsu. "What's the verdict?"

A rather thin, blonde woman, possibly belonging to the Yamanaka clan, in a Tori mask had been the presumed foreman of the quartet. "From what we've gathered, even though he maintained steady breathing, Kachū Takeshi has been lying, Hokage-sama. His heartbeat rate jumped erratically from time to time."

"Thank you, Tori-san. You may now apprehend the suspect in question."

The Chūnin abruptly stood. "What?" the redhead shouted as his hands were grabbed and forcefully held behind him. "You can't do that!" His teeth were grinding together within his snarl.

"I can, and I will," Hiruzen retorted. His face was now as flinty as the bust of his head on the Hokage Monument. "You are charged with perjury; for lying to me and the witnesses, of whom are my ANBU, you will be held in penitentiary until your hearing and subsequent sentencing."

"I can't believe that you take the _demon's_ word over mine!" he roared with venomous disdain. He struggled to break free, but it was futile.

"Hold still," one of the masked shinobi muttered while bashing Takeshi's head onto the desk with a loud thud. He kept a strong grip around the neck region. "You're making it more difficult if you don't come with us peacefully and quietly." It looked like there was a darker edge to the ox-engraved porcelain. "Or, maybe I ought to silence you here and drag your limp body there, eh?"

"Oh, fuck you all!" the redhead shouted before sneering. "When I break out, I'm setting fire to where you live!" He gained a crazed look in his jade eyes when he craned his neck at the agents holding him down. "…Just like I did to the demon brat's den…"

Although none of the masked operatives gasped at the revelation, their eyes, albeit hidden, gave away their surprise.

They supposed that this was the true color of the supposed 'warrior in the flames'; an angry, bitter man that lost his way on the night that his parents were taken from him.

Sarutobi remained unflinching in his chair as he placed his hands into a steeple-like fashion. So, _he_ was the one that tampered with the electrical system in that tenement complex…

"You have just added on more to your charges, Kachū Takeshi. For violating, and broaching, the creed of revealing Uzumaki Naruto's status as a Jinchūriki, along with attempted murder of said individual, you will now be sentenced to death by fire, along with a successive beheading. The scheduled date will be on the twenty-first of October, at high noon, along with another traitor to the state."

"The mutiny of it all…" The ANBU holding his neck gripped tighter before repeating the before mentioned action. This time, he grabbed Takeshi's waist from behind and slammed him forward, onto the hardwood. They clearly heard a few teeth rattling from the fresh impact when the wayward ninja hit hard…cheek first. "What a sad waste of flesh…"

"I don't know why you're acting so high and mighty!" the Chūnin barked. "You're guilty of it, too!" He spat out a couple of teeth, along with an amalgam of blood and saliva. "None of you stepped up to your own inner desire to end that pariah's life…"

"There's…something called self-control, if you've ever heard of it," retorted the ox-masked agent. "And, even if we could, what makes you think that we're safe from the wrath of the Kyūbi, huh?"

Those that heard the unanswered question, bar the pinned down Chūnin, gave a bit of thought on it. The seal branded on Naruto's gut probably was not 'complete,' in a sense. It had been in a very latent, cool-down process after the boy's birth.

Circumspection aside, the ANBU had full confidence and faith that the Yondaime's seal would hold.

On the other hand, Hiruzen pondered more on that. Perhaps he should try to reconvene with his former pupil, Jiraiya, and try to convince him to analyze the boy's stomach, just as a precautionary measure. Once again, one could never be too fastidious.

"Remove the detainee from out of my sight," Sarutobi demanded. "I have other matters to which I must tend." He pointed at the bird-masked kunoichi. "Summon Nara Shikaku to my office, on the double."

She quickly stood at attention, arms immediately by her side, before crisply saluting. "Y-Yes, sir!"

The female ninja vanished with a smoke-less Body Flicker.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Hokage Tower, Private Boardroom 22B, 1430)

"So, is that the plan of action?" asked a scarred gent with his hair in the style reminiscent of a pineapple. He waved his hand to eschew away the burning ash cloud that poured forth from the Hokage's pipe. "You're thinking of another town hall meeting?" He coughed a bit for emphasis. How could Hokage-sama smoke in such a contained space, where the haze had no outlet to go?

"Yes, and no, Shikaku-san," the Sandaime responded, completely ignoring his guest's attempt to bat away his secondhand smoke. "It's a town meeting, in a sense, but only with the shinobi populace. It appears that there are very loose-lipped individuals, and I intend to make them…nice and taut with this Konoha summit."

The elder Nara raised an eyebrow. He had never heard the Third Fire Shadow, His Excellence, with such a forceful tone. What made Sarutobi-sama more hard-edged?

'_We're not mobilizing for another war, are we?'_ Shikaku grimly thought with a dour look. _'I don't even think we have enough manpower, as it stands…'_

"Speaking freely of Naruto's condition is not only treasonous, but it is also a security risk," Hiruzen continued, "and I intend to make that known. The Jinchūriki projects were supposed to have been guarded secrets, etched with misleading rumors. They are not given the rank of 'S' just for the sake of it."

"Oh…" Shikaku's mouth displayed an open 'O' shape. He was a bit…wrong in his inner reasoning. "So, when are you going to host it?"

"Nineteen-thirty, and not a minute sooner or later," the Third Fire Shadow answered. "We should have more than the required quorum by then. I will dispatch many of our messenger owls dedicated for crepuscular and nighttime flights."

"Fair enough, Hokage-sama," the Nara head intoned. "You can send one to me, and I'll inform Chōza and Inoichi. Until then, Sarutobi-sama, I'll be seeing you…You know how Yoshino-chan will be if I'm gone too long…"

Hiruzen winced a bit. He had been there before his wife passed away three years ago. "I can only imagine…"

XXXXXXXXXX

(Hokage Tower, Executive Boardroom 11A, 1929)

Hiruzen ambled quietly to the vast, double doors, leading to the primary assembly room. He pondered in his head and checked through his notes. He needed to be brief, concise, and able to answer any questions that were going to be thrown at him. This was one of the most crucial meetings he had with his throng of subordinates who, for the most part, would carry out his will.

Well, as with most (if not, all) hidden villages, the wealthy daimyō were in charge of the appropriations and routed funding, but it was a debatable point, nevertheless.

The Sandaime Hokage made his presence known as he gently pushed open the doors, revealing a rounded ring of a table. In given intervals, a solid portion of seats, save for the biggest one, was occupied by a particular ninja that had long since retired from active duty, serving as head of their given clans.

Upon seeing Their Excellence, all of the shinobi rose to their feet, indicating veritable, implicit respect.

Hiruzen walked gracefully to the large, cushioned chair on the other side of the room. His hands were held behind his back as the Fire Shadow regalia billowed behind him.

The wrinkled elder placed down his coolie hat unto the polished oak wood—the type of timber that reflected endurance and strength for years to come—before taking his place.

"You may now sit," the Hokage spoke. A myriad of ruffles were heard as the experienced ninja returned to their places. "I will now call this meeting to order at nineteen-thirty…"

"Hokage-sama, may I ask what does this summit entail?" asked a man whose face was hidden beneath a high-brimmed coat and sunglasses.

"There are two matters that are in need of being resolved at this point in time, Shibi-san. The first topic is of high importance. I will get to the second after I feel that it is necessary to move on." With a sweep of his hand, the walls flashed white. Hiruzen was activating a barrier-like technique that prevented sound from filtering in or out of the room. "I assume that you all are aware of the Yondaime's legacy…"

That immediately set the ball rolling.

"Does this have to deal with amendment one thousand, one hundred seventy-three, clauses A through D of the Konoha charter, Hokage-sama?" Several pairs of stunned eyes filtered to the even monotone of the white-eyed Hyūga clan head, Hiashi.

"Yes, Hiashi-san, it is precisely that," the Hokage gravely responded.

"Wait a minute!" barked a shaggy-haired kunoichi with palms flat on the rounded desk. Her eyes looked feral, just like the red markings on her face. "Just what, exactly, is this so-called addendum that I never heard of?" It was apparent that Tsume, along with her daughter, Hana, were tending to her animal familiar after the Kyūbi rampaged along the periphery of Konoha proper. Kuromaru lost an eye after their rumble with the stories-tall tailed beast and needed immediate treatment. It was for that reason that she never received word on any newer developments.

"Patience, Tsume-san," Hiruzen declared. "There's no need to get worked up over what has been added to the Konoha charter. Hiashi-san, if you would be as kind as to relay the new addition?"

With a terse nod, he unraveled a large piece of rice paper. He cleared his throat in order to execute the words. It was clear that he carried some weight as a political dignitary. "It reads as thus:

'Clause A: No one may speak of Uzumaki Naruto's heritage or status as a Jinchūriki under penalty of high treason.

'Clause B: Uzumaki Naruto is entitled the full rights of a noble clan heir, including additional guard by supplemental Konoha shinobi and full financial coverage until such time as he is of sufficient shinobi rank (Chūnin) and claims his inheritance, respectively.

'Clause C: Only Uzumaki Naruto and the acting Hokage may divulge his statuses to those ignorant of them without legal repercussions.

'Clause D: Uzumaki Naruto has full right to defend himself or any relation to him by any means he deems fit against any he deems a significant, immediate threat.

"'This amendment has been signed, and dated, on the eleventh of October, twenty-six hours after the attack of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, by Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage, His Excellence,'" Hiashi concluded as he rolled up the document and passed it around, verifying its authentication. "It is as clear as the azure sky, Hokage-sama, so, what of it?"

"The second condition of Clause A is the topic of focus for tonight, if you can evidently tell."

"Naruto being a demon container has been beaten into the ground after Yondaime-sama passed on, into the bowels of the Shinigami," a red-eyed ex-shinobi piped up. It was apparent that the gentleman hailed from the Yūhi clan.

"Maybe it wasn't hammered out at all," Sarutobi reasoned. "Can you not tell what is wrong about this conversation? We're speaking too freely about Naruto's…condition." The murmuring was silenced. "With our being too open, and with merchants touring countries by the weeks, who would you think would ascertain the knowledge of Konoha harboring a Jinchūriki? In other words, those who have broken the creed—directly or not—have just given the other Elemental Countries an advantage, while spoiling one of our potential surprises. The scales could be tipped in their favor."

It was then that realization dawned upon those in attendance. A couple of guilty souls spoke up.

"Oh, shit…"

"What have we done?"

"Are there any…preventive measures that you wish to seek, Hokage-sama?" Shibi asked, stoic and unflinching as ever.

"Yes, there are. In all honestly, who here has remained obedient to not discuss about Uzumaki Naruto?" It was obvious that Tsume did not know about the law, and she knew nothing of Naruto, so she put her hand in the air. Hiashi soon followed, along with Shibi.

"Shikaku-san…" Said Nara clan head was nodding off, head drooping down with eyes fluttering.

A nudge from his portly friend, Chōza, stirred him from half-sleep. "Huh? What?" He wiped a bit of drool from his chin. "Oh, sorry, Hokage-sama…" He raised his hand along with those of the Ino-Shika-Chō entourage, soon followed by an amethyst-haired knockout from the Mitarashi clan.

"So, you're meaning to tell me that, out of my _entire_ cluster of shinobi, only seven clan heads managed to veer away from discussing a top-secret and classified case?" He grimly shook his head. "I'm ashamed of all of you. Perhaps, to some of you, my philosophies have been taken for granted…" He closed his eyes before a very large pressure surrounded the boardroom in hurtling waves, in the form of killing intent. It was pure usage of his latent chakra potential on the Sandaime's part. "…or, maybe," his eyes opened, putting the ninja in the room on edge, "I've been taken too lightly…"

"Hokage-sama, you have to take into account that Kakashi isn't here," Shikaku responded, gasping a bit for air. "He would probably side along with us. Granted, he's not here, and I can't vouch for him. It's still roughly sixty-seven percent—if Kakashi were present—that have stayed tried and true to the doctrine passed down roughly seven years prior to this conference." The wave of energy subsided ever slightly, until the room was deemed 'comfortable' by most.

"But, the fact remains: thirty-three percent have not adhered to the doctrine," Hiashi coldly commented. "I propose that we select a board to police what has been set down. Not only would it allow more job opportunities, but also, it would help reduce the amount of contingents that choose to break Sandaime-sama's law on their own volition. It would also, in turn, compensate for the loss of the Konoha Military Police Force." Hiashi swore to himself that he heard a few grunts of passive expletives directed toward a particular diminished clan when he indirectly referred to the Uchiha clan. He then turned to a now calmer Sarutobi. "What say you, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen closed his eyes, once again, and breathed evenly. "I will agree on your suggestion, Hiashi-san. Does this mean that you'll volunteer?"

"Well," Hiashi remarked as he looked about, "you know that, with my being clan head, I must humbly decline the offer of the role of task-force officer. My schedule is stretched thin, as it is, sir." He heard Shikaku grunt, trying to maintain his laughter. "May I ask as to what is so humorous, Nara-san?"

"Oh, nothing…Nothing at all," the scarred Jōnin muttered, grin still in place. Leave it to the noble to pass off something that he suggested to someone else. "I just think that the task force should consist of individuals currently off the active duty roster. I know that it's a bit bothersome, but I guess I'll volunteer…"

"If Shikaku is in it, then so are we," Inoichi added, along with a hard nod from the Akimichi figurehead.

"To prevent further affliction among our fellow Leaf-nin, I, the buxom and beautiful Mitarashi Amatō, will take on this responsibility, too." She made emphasis by sticking out her chest, exposing her assets hidden behind a tightly woven, purple gi.

Most of the males within the room had one bead of sweat on the back of their scalps, indicative of the rather strange and awkward moment.

"Okay, I believe that will be all for this discussion," the Professor interrupted as he arranged his note cards on the desk. He cleared his throat. "All in favor of allowing the aforementioned gather together a task force?"

It was essentially unanimous. "Very well, then. The motion for the task force passes. The next item of business pertains to the Uchiha found last night…"

A snort of disgust emanated from the Inuzuka matriarch, and everyone within hearing range looked at her rather curiously. "That clan? Tch…I wouldn't have trusted them as far as I could throw them!"

"Well, both of your clans believed in loyalty," the Aburame spokesman rationalized.

"That may have been true; however, we would never butcher our kinsmen for no apparent reason! For me, the Inuzuka pack means everything!"

"…" Shibi remained quiet. She had a point, so it was not logical enough to make a counterpoint. Perhaps, there was an underlying motive to the crimes committed, but he could not pinpoint the motive, intent and reason as to the why and how. What the Uchiha did was on their time and business, so why mull over it?

"In any case, there is the situation with distributing the Uchiha children left from the Massacre," Hiruzen joined in, presenting his carefully written contract. "Here is what I had in mind…"

XXXXXXXXXX

(Sarutobi complex, 2200 hours)

As the exhausted, old man entered his home to rest for the night, he was assaulted by two, rapidly approaching blurs: one blond; the other, brunet.

"Welcome home, Jijii!" Obviously, the loud voice belonged to Naruto.

"Jii-chan!" The softer shout was echoed by Konohamaru.

"Please, kids, not tonight," he said, rather browbeaten. He could not move one centimeter with the two little children impeding his path. He managed a small smile. At least there was some good that had come from the meeting. "Anyway, I have a surprise for you two."

"Really? What is it?" the boisterous blond was close to rendering Hiruzen's eardrums useless. "Tell me! Tell me!"

"Naruto, my head is pounding," the temperate Hokage muttered. "Please, keep it down." As soon as the blue-eyed loudspeaker quieted down, he pressed on. "Now, may I ask, would you all like a sister or a brother?"

"Huh?" was the only intelligible thing that the bewhiskered blond said.

"I would…wike an Onee-chan, Jii-chan," Konohamaru uttered.

"Well, then, I suppose that you have your wish, Ko-kun." His mirth, for just a moment, returned as he brought the hand that was behind his back, around to the front. Attached to his gnarled hand were the petite digits of a dark-haired lass. Her strands of hair were raw umber in tone, further complementing her russet brown orbs that were looking upon the ground. Her complexion appeared as if she could blend in, within the household. "Now, I would like to introduce you two to our new addition to the Sarutobi home, Hotaru." He rubbed her hand for good measure. No one was going to harm her here. "There's no need to be shy, Hotaru-chan. Naruto and Konohamaru won't hurt you…"

'_At least, I hope not…'_ he deduced. Other than his hyperactive exuberance, Naruto was a kindred soul, and he seemed to be a (somewhat) positive role model for the younger, three-year-old Konohamaru. He had then looked forward to how the boy would affect a seven-year-old girl that had lost everything in one night…just as the unknowing Naruto did about seven years ago…

Hiruzen cleared away the road of sorrows long passed. Now was not the time to recollect on the times of yore. Looking toward the future should be what he was doing.

"Even though she may not be related to us by blood, just like you are to us, Naruto, we are still one family, nevertheless. We, as family, branch out from the trunk known as Konohagakure no Sato, where everyone is important to me; almost as much as my kith and kin. I expect that you treat her as such." He looked down at the little girl. "Go on and say hello."

"Um…hi…" she mumbled softly.

"Hey, Hotaru-chan," Naruto remarked with a wide grin. "Do you like ramen?"

The second brunette slowly shook her head in the negative. "No," she tenderly replied, "sorry, but I don't. I like yakitori."

"Say what?" Naruto displayed a mortified look. "You can't be serious!" he shrieked.

Sarutobi sighed and began to rub his throbbing temples, wondering why he had brought these burdens upon himself to carry. Maybe it was his soft spot for kids; the ones that needed him most…

XXXXXXXXXX

(Dungeon, whereabouts unknown—information classified, 5 October, 1800 hours)

The area was dark; not even light could penetrate the gloomy, enclosed confines.

Two sentries on warden duty followed closely after one another. The jailor that was at the lead held out a torch to illuminate the inky darkness. The prison guard behind him was somewhat terrified of the limited space as they ventured down the spiraling staircase—or what they assumed to be.

"All hope abandon, ye who enter here," the foremost sentinel muttered. "Welcome to the bowels of Hell, itself."

The rear guard's teeth could be heard rattling together. "This p-place g-gives me the h-heebie-jeebies," he uttered.

"Don't be frightened. I'm sure that you've seen worse when out in the field, Ebi."

"I-I know, Tanaka-senpai, b-but why are w-we here?"

"I thought I told you to address me as Fuyuji, Ebi," the one known as Tanaka Fuyuji reprimanded as they descended into the murky depths of the undisclosed prison. "And we're here to give the prisoner of high treason something to eat, as per the orders of Hokage-sama." He gave pause for a brief second or three. "I suppose that he keeps the petty criminals in that penitentiary on the far side of town, whereas he wants to keep a particular eye on the ones that he, himself, incarcerated."

"What about that Chūnin, Kachū Takeshi?" the frail warden known as Ebi inquired. "Why is he being held in that labor camp, Fuyuji-senpai?"

His colleague's voice was grating on his nerves. "To hell if I know the answer, but I'm sure that he has twenty-four-hour surveillance on him." They paused at their destination, of which had been a heavy door made from the most impermeable of metals. "Ah, so this is the place. Leave it to Kase-san and his crew to make something this sturdy…" He turned around to Ebi. "You got the dishes, Ebi?"

"Y-yes, sir. I do." The feeble Ebi handed the weighty Fuyuji a tray filled with some onigiri, along with another bowl of tenpura. Complementing the dishes were some fried dumplings.

"Huh…It looks like someone's getting a special treat today. And I guess that your shaking didn't spill over anything…" He lifted a hatch at the bottom of the door and slid the food carrier under the metal door. "Eat up, ingrate!" He turned to his accomplice. "We're done here, Ebi. Let's go."

XXXXXXXXXX

Danzō graciously picked up the tray to sit it by the nightstand, next to his bed.

It had been like this since his incarceration. He woke up, meditated throughout the day, and was served adjustable portions of food three times per diem.

During his time in confinement, several key thoughts permeated through his brooding mind.

First and foremost, he was overshadowed by Sarutobi Hiruzen; eclipsed by the teachings of that man. In the eyes of his rival, Danzō opposed his efforts to sustain Konoha as a united front.

The militaristic warmonger vied for the position of Sandaime Hokage, but fell short of the votes. In fact, it was an overwhelming majority in Hiruzen's favor for the seat.

It was during his grim musings that Danzō felt a single emotion bubble and spill over his being: rage…burning fury…unquenchable hatred…

He detested the philosophy that was passed down from its progenitor, Senju Hashirama, the late Shodai Hokage—the first, founding Fire Shadow. And, to rub it in his face, the Nidaime and his political enemy maintained the system.

'_How feeble…How weak does this tree stand without me?'_ he thought as he sipped on his now-cool tea from the early afternoon. He skillfully tossed aside the mug into the wall, where the ceramic clay shattered into unidentifiable fragments. The green liquid slowly dripped onto the frigid concrete.

He knew what emotions could do to the most rational of beings, but he just could not squelch this peaking fervor for vengeance.

The war hawk felt as if he were robbed of everything; from the position of Hokage, to his policies falling on deaf ears, to the Jinchūriki…

Danzō's thought process stopped before his visible orb narrowed dangerously.

'_The Kyūbi brat…'_

The very notion of Uzumaki Naruto made Danzō sick to his stomach. It was, yet again, another blunder on his part.

He wanted to harness Naruto's…no, the Kyūbi's potential for his own bidding. He had desired to manipulate and toy with the boy's will. He endeavored to license the kid under his property, as a mindless drone, to carry out the dirty deeds where none of the higher-ups would want to tarnish their own hands.

That idea was discarded due to an ongoing filibuster, initiated by Sarutobi, no less. The prune muttered on and on about how 'it was against the Yondaime's legacy' and that 'he was to be seen as a hero for his struggle over evil every day.'

'_What a load of hogwash…'_

His attempts, however, have not been in vain. His only defining moment was that he led instruction on how to kill one's own emotions when in the field of combat. He was the primary sensei for controlling sensations and emotions for both ANBU divisions. That was how he had been introduced to Uchiha Itachi, the upcoming prodigy with a load of raw talent.

The young man was always against the grain with regard to the supposed virtues of his clansmen.

It was a matter of common ground for the two to seek the terms of the extermination; however, Itachi was given the green light by Danzō to singlehandedly take out the rebellious ones. The young Sharingan-wielder asked why he did not gain clearance from the Hokage to start earlier than the timetable allowed. His response was that it was not to aid Sarutobi; more or less, it was a means to an end. Protecting the seat of the Fire Shadow took precedence over anything filtering through Danzō's mind.

And now, after all that he had given to make sure that Konoha was still supporting itself, he would never see the light of day, until his execution, scheduled sixteen days from now…

_**You desire what you seek, yes?**_

Danzō turned around when he felt the strong presence. "Who's there?" he calmly asked.

_**There's no need to be hostile, Danzō-san…**_

The warmonger's face remained steady and dispassionate to the sound of the booming voice. "How do you know my name?" he cautiously inquired.

_**In a sense, sir,**_ the effigy materialized out of a thick, purplish fog, "you called me here."

The militarist took in the appearance of the dark seraph in front of his eyes. The man appeared to be ageless, bar several wrinkles lining his pallid, gray face. His pupil-less eyes gleamed with a light blue, reminiscent of the iridescent moonlight. He was covered in an elegant ceremonial dress; a deep, forest green robe, embroidered with gold and a complementary metallic belt of the same coloration. Surrounding the timeless figure's head was a garnet headdress similar to a few temple priests that he had seen in the before time.

"What is it that you want from me?"

An ashen hand made its way to the outline's chin. "It is not I, but it is you who are seeking. I am here to further your cause." The unnamed figure gave Danzō a wicked grin that made even the impassive militarist feel some form of fear.

"Then, what is your name?" Danzō skeptically asked.

"You may refer to me as…" He paused to come up with a pseudonym, worthy of his cause. "Seigi-sama…and I have great expectations of you in due time."

"How can you expect me to fulfill anything? Sarutobi has condemned me to death; my life is, thereby, forfeit."

"Fear not," the entity known as 'Seigi' responded in a calm manner. "I will help you, but it will come with some strings attached…"

Sarutobi's rival thought cautiously about the predicament at hand. There was no way that this being in front of him was of the mortal coil. Perhaps, there were deities. If there had been a shinigami that absconded with a soul in his gut, then other figures, such as gods, could potentially exist.

It was worth a shot, for it was better than having a flawed legacy after being set aflame. "What are the conditions…?"

XXXXXXXXXX

(Day of Judgment, 21 October, 1200 hours)

The clarion call was given to the townsfolk, shinobi and civilian alike in the form of a flock of ravens that cast out the rays of the sun.

'_Hmm…' _Aoba mused as he dashed to the plaza. _'This is truly the harbinger of death…'_

He would know; he had a technique similar to that, but he could tell that they were of flesh, bone and plumage.

"Heh," a chuckle was heard nearby the sunglasses-wearing ninja. He recognized the man with the hideous scar running across the bridge of his nose, all the way to his left cheek. It was his fellow compatriot, Namiashi Raidō. "An execution, it would seem to be. Now, who were the ones that pissed off Hokage-sama so badly?"

"From the records," Aoba answered while still looking ahead, "they are Kachū Takeshi, and, surprisingly enough, Shimura Danzō." His eyebrows furrowed a bit.

"Danzō?" the shorter-haired Tokubetsu Jōnin muttered to himself. "Isn't he that old war hawk that was in charge of the 'Root' Division?"

XXXXXXXXXX

(Hidden Leaf Village Town Square)

"Shimura Danzō, Kachū Takeshi, you have been considered enemies of the state," Sarutobi announced amidst the gathering with a very repugnant visage. The two criminals were held with chakra-restricting binds on two stakes, wedged within their own fagots. "The accounts of treason have been set upon the both of you. Your execution will be swift—burning at the stake followed immediately by decapitation. Do any of you have any last words before you're offered to the depths of the Death God?"

"Yes," Takeshi derided. "I welcome it, so do your worst."

Sarutobi's unwavering eyes panned onto the exposed, solitary eye of his political rival. "Have you anything to say, Danzō?"

"This is not over," the war hawk enigmatically intoned. "Come Hell or high water, I will have my revenge. The Will of the Iron Shadow shall not be moved by the likes of you and those that support your optimism, Sarutobi Hiruzen."

The Professor closed his eyes. "Very well, then." He performed a small Body Flicker to steer clear of what was to come. "Is the firing squad ready?"

Stationed around the two fallen shinobi was a ring of black-masked shinobi flipping through several hand seals, simultaneously. All of the midnight-clad agents, codenamed the 'firing squad,' ended together on the Tora seal.

"We are at your beck and call, Hokage-sama," replied the foreman, evident of a red sash crossing over his shoulder. "We are ready to unleash a firestorm upon the infidels."

"You may fire when ready," Sarutobi said as he held out his right arm, giving the intended signal.

"Fire!"

The air shimmered, due to the rising heat potential among the legion, before one, large volley of moderate-sized fireballs closed in on the fixed targets.

When the raging wildfires connected, something felt amiss to the Sandaime Hokage. There were not any screams or cries of anguish. The smell of burning flesh never wafted to the nostrils of the crowd. It appeared that foul play was at work…

He immediately held up a hand, silently calling an abrupt halt to the stream of flames.

After the conflagration fanned out, he suspected the worst…

The shackles remained in place, but Takeshi and Danzō were nowhere to be seen…

Mutters and gasps filtered about the crowd before the uproar escalated to staggering volumes.

"Where are they? Where are the prisoners?"

"They're…gone…"

"But, it's not possible…"

"It can't be…"

'_I half-expected that something like this would occur…'_ Sarutobi thought while clenching together his teeth. It could have a few of his devout 'Root' cronies that helped out their leader. Danzō's puzzling speech now made some shred of sense. Most certainly, and without a shadow of doubt, it was far from being settled. "All active ninja: spread out and search for the rogues!" he all but exclaimed. "They must not escape! Go! Hurry, for time is of the essence!"

"You heard the man! Now, let's split!"

Dozens upon dozens of blurs evacuated the scene to search for the nuke-nin.

Hiruzen let out a grand breath, intermingled with a suppressed groan. He was definitely getting too old to be putting up with these matters.

"Hokage-sama, I, Hatake Kakashi, am reporting in as interim captain, sir," a voice responded from him. "The mission was, for the most part, successful. However, some…complications occurred along the way."

Sarutobi turned an about face to a rather battered Copy Ninja in tattered attire. His gaze softened a considerable margin. "Come to my office for your debriefing…"

XXXXXXXXXX

(Unknown milieu)

A circular temple was poised at the top of one of the mountains along its associate chain. The sanctuary was built of polished marble and was open to the outside air. Large, smooth pillars made of the same rock supported the rather large interior, along with the domed ceiling. Each refined column had been wide enough that it would take three, average-sized men to wrap their arms around them.

Situated in the center dais was a cherry-red throne, currently occupied, made from the finest of woven silks. Surrounding the platform were golden tiles, dazzling with flickering embers underneath. Yet, somehow, the floor never had a temperature fluctuation.

Hijin sat, one tanned leg crossed over another, in boredom, staring at her bare feet. Other than her refined posture, her arms were resting on one side of the throne—rather unladylike. She was dressed down, in a sense. The Goddess of Fire let down her wild, vermilion tresses and had on a two-piece bikini of similar hue. Covering her bottom half was a mesh skirt that essentially left little to the imagination of hot-blooded males.

'_What's taking that bastard so long?'_ she cogitated.

Beforehand, she was told by the pompous God of Thunder to remain at her Temple of Passionate Fire, until he spoke with her. What that was, she had no idea, but relented, anyway.

Her carmine irises looked on, apathetically, as a burst of lightning convened on a single spot.

'_Huh…Speak of the devil…'_

"You could kill the theatrics, Raiden-sama," Hijin chided.

"And you should watch your tongue, Hijin," Raiden snapped back, "as well as your actions…"

"Whatever," she muttered while rolling her eyes. "What is it, this time?"

XXXXXXXXXX

(Unfamiliar setting)

Fluffy clouds obscured the blue-toned pagoda that was perched on said billows. A myriad of cascades poured forth, from the underside. The water source was unidentifiable.

The Wind God remained at the top of the highest, projecting roof, until he heard a girlish squeal from down below, near the cataracts.

"Yay! This is fun!"

Fūjin lightly shook his head, white ponytail swaying in the gentle breezes. It seemed as if Suijin frequented his temple often, even when off 'deity duty.' Every time he asked why she did not go to her shrine, she normally dodged a forthright answer. She generally said, in some form or fashion, that his Sky Temple was so enjoyable to be around.

"Suijin-san, what are you doing?" he asked over the crest of the pagoda's crown.

Even though she was a small dot, the Water Goddess waved her hands for Fūjin to see. "Didn't I tell you that these falls are fun?"

'…_Only about a million times, as of today…'_ he inwardly thought as he sighed.

"Oh, I forgot that I had your parchment on the Prophecy, Fūjin-kun." She took out the now drenched piece of paper. "Uh…Whoops…" She donned a shamefaced grin.

"Woman troubles again, Fūjin?" a burly voice asked before coming into view.

Dojin materialized from the available dust surrounding the Buddhist-like place of worship. "You know, you should stand to tidy up around here."

The God of Wind turned a peculiar eye to the newcomer. "Just what did you mean by that last comment, Dojin-san?"

"Oh, nothing," he answered while holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "Nothing at all…"

"Tch…" The deity of the zephyrs sucked his teeth. "Yeah, right."

The crystal-clear fluids at the bottom of the Sky Pagoda climbed to staggering heights before the Goddess of Water plopped out, strutting off her elegant one-piece bathing suit. "Fūjin-kun, I'm _so_ sorry that I ruined this scroll. Can you find in your heart to forgive me?" Her cerulean eyes glazed over, commencing her infamous 'puppy-dog eyes.' It managed to nag at the Wind God every time she pulled off that gesture. And when she added on with the pouting lip…

And there it went…

Fūjin cringed. "All is forgiven, Suijin-san," he managed to say before getting back the piece of rice paper.

"Pushover," Dojin grunted.

After blowing on it (along with giving the Earth God a flat glower), he took notice of something that was not supposed to be there. His white eyes grew larger. "Well, I'll be…"

"What is it, Fūjin?" the hefty Earth God inquired at his fellow seraph's sudden befuddlement.

"There's more written on the Prophecy."

"Eh?" Suijin titled her head to the side in a rather cute fashion. "What does it say?"

"Take a good look for yourselves, Suijin-san, Dojin-san…"

Another stanza was tacked onto the supposedly fixed Prophecy:

_Come along and aid, O Burning Firefly;  
Aid thy kith and kin to their victory  
With the blades bestowed by your Legacy-  
Shed the Scarlet Plume in burning glory…_

"I normally thought that divinations were set in stone. Well, the wording, at least," the God of Earth uttered.

"I still don't get it," Suijin commented, confused as ever.

"I had a similar notion with that of Dojin-san. I only assumed that the outcomes could be somewhat different." The God of the Zephyrs closed his eyes. "Could it be that this Prophecy is longer than what we have possibly thought?" He turned up his head to see the illuminated skies. "It would appear that the One Being is slowly, but surely, revealing it to us in portions…"

"That leads me to wondering what, precisely, is this entity known as the One Being…" Dojin remarked. "…the higher power that bestowed life unto us…"

XXXXXXXXXX

(Temple of Passionate Fire)

"You do know that I have called you into question with regard to breaking the Deity Code of Conduct," Raiden said with even tones.

"Point of clarification: I _almost_ contravened," the Deity of Fire corrected with arms crossed in indignation. She was now standing in front of the Thunder God.

"In any case, you know what that law states, right?"

She gave the portentous Elder God a scowl while reciting the passage, verbatim, while he paced around her. "'As a chosen god or goddess, one can never, under any condition, directly interfere in human affairs. If he or she infringes upon this ordinance, then the deity involved will have his or her powers relinquished, along with facing the plight of mortality…

"'Furthermore, all entities are granted with deified immunity, in which states that no god, seraph or lesser entity is permitted to intrude upon the work of another celestial being.' What's your point?" she bluntly asked.

"You were treading a fine line with influencing the philosophy of mankind," he reasoned while pointing accusingly. "Do not follow in Shinnok's footsteps! I do not want to drop my work to wage war with another god."

"Then, don't," she snapped back. "Mind your business, and I'll tend to mine."

"…Fair enough," he calmly stated. "You may tend to whatever you were doing."

The Goddess of the Flame sucked her teeth, turned around and swaggered to her ruby chair in an S-shaped path, sashaying her hips along the way. Why was she getting hounded? She knew of her shortcomings. So, why did it have to be brought up time and time again?

It was then that Raiden's white eyes noticed the ugly eyesore that Suijin brought up at their conference. His marred frown had then turned to an uncharacteristic smirk.

"Suijin was right," the Titan of the Thundercloud remarked as an aside.

Hijin's ears perked when she came to a stop. "Hm?"

"You do need to get that insidious carbuncle checked out…" His laughter could be heard before vanishing away in a flash of lightning, coupled with a clangor of rumbling.

No sooner had the God of Thunder left, the Fire Goddess infuriatingly screamed within her palace. Her scarlet locks began to kindle as one, gigantic flame.

"You bastard!" she roared to the zenith before sneering. "Just you wait…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A/N**: Well, that was a very content-rich chapter, to say the least. I hoped that you enjoyed this little 'slice of life' for the past common calendar month that was this episode. I will try to keep these chapters relatively long and dense, edging out between eight and ten thousand words (i.e. that will be my comfort zone, only for this fic). If I exceed my limit, then I'll still be content, nonetheless.

The mission that Kakashi had gone on will be covered in detail for the next installment.

I know that it can also be spelled as the Romanized 'tempura,' but I decided to stick mainly to the Japanese Rōmaji spelling (seeing that there isn't an 'm' in the kana system).

I would like to give credit/acknowledgment for the following pre-readers for this chapter:

**madaziz**

**pudgypudge**

**Arashi the Solar Phoenix**

**weixuan18**

**MatrixExplosion**

**Paladeus**

**Dalxein**

Furthermore, I would like to give acclamation to **Dalxein** for the amendment blurb, as an ode to one of his fics entitled _Finite Life_. However, in his story, it was detailed as Amendment 3472. Stop by and give his work a good once-over. I'd say that he is a pretty respectable author in his own right. Comment if you'd like to (apologies for the lame excuse of shameless plugging).

**Trivia Corner**

"_All hope abandon, ye who enter here…"_

_From what literary work was this quote derived?_

_Until next time, have a good day (or night, depending on your time zone), ladies and gentlemen. Please review, for accolades are the lifeblood of authors._

_Next Chapter: Infiltrate the Jashin Cult_

**Rōmaji/Jutsu Guide (I will include kana and kanji scripts for this guide, henceforth)**

幻術 **genjutsu**: illusory techniques; this branch of ninja arts focuses on the manipulation of perception through the five senses of the human body

短刀 **tantō**: short sword, dagger, dirk

枷鉄丸 **Kase Tetsumaru** (literally, "iron ring shackles"): owner of the Tankō Ironworks

鍛鋼 **tankō**: forged steel

白光チャクラ刀 **Hakkō Chakura Tō (White Light Chakra Saber)**: a tantō that originally belonged to Sakumo, but then he passed it on to his son, Kakashi.

甘党 **amatō**: person fond of sweets

焼鳥**yakitori**: grilled bird, grilled chicken, roast fowl

正義 **seigi**: justice

抜け忍 **nuke-nin**: runaway shinobi, rogue ninja, missing ninja, escaped ninja (interchangeable terms); ninja who left their village without the intention of returning, often because they have committed criminal acts or to pursue other personal gains, and the ninja village that they are from will often try to track them down and eliminate them


	3. Infiltrate the Jashin Cult: Part I

**A/N (Foreword)**: So far, the reception to my second, experimental sandbox fic seems to be coming along nicely. Thanks to those who reviewed. I apologize for the long wait between updates, but as stated by many authors, real life comes first.

First of all, if you have forgotten most (or all) of the details in this fic, then I would advise you to look over it again. There are only three chapters (well, two and a half, technically, but those are just semantics) in total, thus far, so it isn't like it's a huge chore or anything. Plus, I have done some minor alterations with some of the previous chapters, to make sure that they are up to snuff. If you're reading fan fiction in the first place, then you probably have the time to go back. **Please, take no offense.**

If anyone is a bit fuzzy on how Fūjin's Sky Temple is described, then look on my profile to the link. I did receive permission from **timetenshi** to use and host his artwork from deviantArt. It was absolutely mind-blowing, in my eyes.

Now that the shameless plugging is done, allow me to move onward.

To answer the trivia question from last chapter:

"_**All hope abandon, ye who enter here…"**_

_From what literary work was this quote derived?_

_Answer (any of the following): The Divine Comedy (blanket term), Dante's Inferno; author: Dante Alighieri_

**To those that answered correctly: Knives91, Dragon Man 180, imortis, Inumiru, ThirdParty, delta16669, Kagome300, Bluesv20, Mr. Fix-It-NAO (formerly Vassago-Toxicity), iamjmph01, necaro, KyLewin, CaptDutchboy, Traitor-Hero, ryukashin2, oddman5**

**That's a lot of people…**

**Heh…I suppose that the trivia was a bit too easy, this time around. But, at any rate, thank you to those who answered.**

Now, onto the main point of focus: this upcoming (and subsequent follow-up) chapter will be a recap, of sorts, on what occurred during Kakashi's mission to the demilitarized zone (or DMZ, for those that have heard or read those abbreviations).

I hope that you all will enjoy. Readers, reviewers, thank you for your time…as well as bearing with me and the long wait between updates. I'm truly humbled by your patience.

_**Chapter Three:**__ Infiltrate the Jashin Cult (Part I)_

(21 October, Hokage's Office, 1300 hours)

Within the Hokage's office, Hiruzen had taken note of Kakashi's disheveled condition.

The infamous Copy Ninja had partial rips along his vest and uniform. Along with that, Kakashi's right hand looked severely burned. In contrast to his left hand, his right appeared as if it had been rubbed raw. The cyclopean Jōnin's visible eye sagged more than its usual droopiness, and his head bobbed slightly up and down, almost as if he fought off the feeling of passing out.

"Kakashi," Sarutobi kindly began in a thoughtful manner, "while I do admire dedication to the profession, I would rather not have to debrief you in the hospital. Unless you have something urgent, then perhaps you should…" Said ninja in front of him broke decorum for a brief second to relay his thoughts and feelings.

"With all due respect, sir, and I do apologize, but I will finish the mission that was given to me," Kakashi evenly responded when his exposed eye looked into the Hokage's face with a hint of determination behind it. "That includes the official report to my superior."

"Well, then," Hiruzen intoned while lighting his pipe, "start from the beginning."

Kakashi winced as he sat up in the chair. His sides ached beyond his imagination from pushing his physical boundaries to the limit. He, along with his operatives, ran in a full sprint to Konoha in order to tell his commanding officer about what had occurred. With an even breath, Kakashi of the Sharingan began to recount the details of the mission.

"Twenty-five days ago, a few hours after our scheduled departure…"

XXXXXXXXXX

(26 September, 1500 hours—Twenty-five days prior)

Verdant giants for trees loomed over them; the very forest felt so overwhelming in its immense size…suffocating, even. The four figures navigating through the dense wooded area appeared insignificant in the grander scheme of things.

A myriad of thoughts pervaded Kakashi's mind as his unit and he soared through the lush terrain of Fire Country.

His instincts signaled red flags in front of his face as they moved closer and closer to the designated rendezvous point. Something just did not settle well with the Copy Ninja. What that was, he did not know, but he knew that something big was going to happen…

…and he _always_ trusted his instincts…especially after _that_ incident, so long ago…

Kakashi shook his head. He was thinking too much; more than what was needed at this point in time. In order to be an effective leader, he had to keep on his senses and avoid distractions at all costs.

"Is everything okay, Senpai?" a delicate voice asked from right by his side. "You seem troubled."

Kakashi turned to his right to see one of his students that looked up to him when he served time in the ANBU division. Even though the blank, nō-style mask sat in front of her face, the long, amethyst hair was a dead giveaway to her identity, along with the concerned undertone lining her voice.

"Hm?" he asked, feigning surprise. Then, he became a bit relieved, if the upturned eye was any indication. "Ah, I'm fine, Yūgao. I was just thinking. That's all." Not one to miss his footing or overstepping the landing, Kakashi deftly perched onto a sturdy branch of a mighty sequoia before jumping off like a bird in flight.

"Okay…" she uttered with a slight nod, following in step. "I was just concerned about your silence…"

"Don't worry. I am fine, really. Just trust me on this one, okay?" He gave the younger shinobi a small smile in her direction, even though it did not appear from behind the face mask.

His junior trainee faced front as she gracefully scaled back into formation with the other ninja, where she took point in the center, behind Kakashi-senpai, and directly in between the two powerhouses flanking her sides—Maito Gai and her former partner, Tenzō. It was essential to protect the individual with basic to advanced fundamentals in the healing arts at all times, so those serving in the elite groups of shinobi had that notion engraved into their instincts to protect the one who could keep down the amounts of injuries or help sustain someone's life, among other things.

The lone kunoichi of the four-man squad glanced to her immediate left and took in the eccentric style of the self-proclaimed 'Noble Green Beast of Konoha' that she had met prior to the start of the mission. Despite his typical hotheadedness and…rather form-fitting attire, Maito Gai was someone who could back up another ninja if he or she got into a sticky situation. The man probably stood on even footing with her former superior; his taijutsu was phenomenal when comparing his styles to the standardized methods. On sheer determination and drive, Gai-san took taijutsu to impressive levels that even the elite in that area could not achieve—and he was only twenty-two years old, too. Yūgao gave credit where credit was due, and she entrusted Maito Gai with her life, if it came down to it on this mission.

Panning her vision to the right, Yūgao's eyes landed on the equally blank porcelain of her one-time partner, Tenzō, who was a year older than she. Aside from his stoicism and parsimonious penny-pinching from time to time, the Mokuton wielder worked well when in tight situations. He worked hard, but damn, he was so lazy at heart! Granted, he shared in his leisure whenever the opportunity arose, which usually consisted of making houses with his unique style of ninjutsu instead of pitching tents in the late nights. Not only was it convenient, but it also helped protect his companions from some of the harsher elements, such as heavy rain or snow.

As with mostly everything, the spiritual combination of his two chakra natures had its serious drawbacks. The man to her immediate right was just learning how to properly blend the two chakra types needed to create the Shodai Hokage's life-giving gift, but it surely took a toll on his energy if he did not succeed in the first few tries. She did not want to feel pity for him, for he was tough and mildly stubborn to a fault. Well, that and he stood alone as the sole inheritor of the Wood Release arts of ninjutsu—or were they called hijutsu, due to the fact that no one else was unable perform those techniques? Either way, Tenzō persistently trudged through the styles to learn as much as he could in order to better understand and utilize his talents.

In the back of her mind, Yūgao wondered where the subtlety in their profession had gone. She thought that shinobi were supposed to live by stealth and cunning and fade into the surroundings without being spotted by the enemy. At least, it was depicted in the history books like that, from what she recalled with distinct clarity, before the rumored emergence of the Rikudō Sennin and the introduction of his profound teachings that brought the entire shinobi world to a new age. Legends told that he brought forth the revolution in the chaotic turmoil of the legendary past. Granted, the Sage was only a myth akin to that of any folkloric legend, and a man that powerful could not have existed, for all she knew. The young woman could not help that she possessed a critical mind that always harbored skepticism to anything she learned.

Her meandering thoughts were disturbed when she heard Gai-san let loose a low whistle by the purse of his lips.

"Now, that takes me back, Kakashi," the green-clad ninja muttered. His eyes were focused on the squad leader's back, now that he had a better glimpse of what his comrade was lugging around. "I did not know that you managed to fix your dad's fancy, most youthful knife."

Sure enough, instead of the typical ninjatō that most of the ANBU agents carried on their person, Kakashi's blade was a lot shorter, indicative of the vertical angle upon which the blade's mid-back-length sheath rested. The polished metal that made up the pommel gleamed whenever sunlight shone off of it, along with a silk-white ribbon that was attached around said pommel and wrapped around the cord-wrapped handle and scabbard. It produced a rather hypnotizing, and yet, ethereal effect when one lay eyes on such a unique weapon.

Apparently, Kakashi was still in his own little world. "Hm?" He turned to look over his left shoulder. "Did you say something, Gai?"

The kunoichi of the group swore that she heard the grinding of teeth from the taijutsu specialist before muttering under his breath, "Ugh…You and your hip attitude…" He looked over to the blank face-mask of the sole woman of the group (who was staring at him, oddly enough) before his keen eyes set their sights on the red, swirly design of the tattoo…or maybe it was a brand mark…on the vernal woman's exposed pristine right shoulder. At least, that was what he could discern from that angle.

Gai was hesitant to discuss about it, so he glanced around the soaring formation and sensed no one else.

"Say, Kakashi, is there any particular reason why you get branded when you join in the ranks of the ANBU?" Gai inquired.

The Copy Ninja, just like Gai, scanned for any signs of being followed. Taking in the fact that he did not detect any eavesdroppers lingering about, he waved the sign to halt and regain the stamina that was lost in the fast trek to the northeast. Gradually, the group of four made their descent beneath the fertile skyline and onto the rather dry understory of the large wooded area.

"Since we're a bit ahead of time, I suppose we can enlighten you, Gai," Kakashi answered, cheery, upbeat voice and all. However, Gai read the subtext. He was uncomfortable with divulging this secret, but he would be blunt enough to say the bare minimum of what was required. It was not like that there was much of anything to hide…well, in the matter of shinobi-speak, that was.

"Well, Tenzō, care to start off?" the Copy Ninja prompted to his junior while he picked off some small twigs from his apparel.

The rather unflappable cheapskate crossed his arms and began to go into lecture mode, mask still in place.

'_Leave it to Kakashi-senpai to pawn off any task to someone under him…'_ the Mokuton wielder sourly mused.

"The mark of the ANBU is the symbol that denotes our unwavering allegiance to our leader and nation," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Okay…" Gai evenly drawled. "I get even that much. Give me _some_ credit here, ANBU-san."

"Well," Yūgao spoke up, stepping forward and taking over the conversation, "the brand indicates who is male or female among the squad of masked soldiers. If you see the symbol in black and on the left shoulder, like with my partner here, then one immediately knows that the agent is male. Conversely, if the mark of the ANBU is red and located on the right shoulder, like so…" She pointed to her own design. "…then the operative is female."

The Noble Green Beast of Konoha absorbed what was spoken, but something felt…off. It felt as if information was being withheld for a reason. He hummed while rubbing his pronounced chin. "What are the capabilities of that brand? Is it a seal variant?"

Tenzō and Yūgao said nothing. Instead, they both scratched behind their heads, trying to word it properly.

Luckily, Kakashi decided to go straight to the answer. "Well, Gai, you're partially correct. It is a seal, but it is…somewhat different in design. In fact, the layout of each seal differs among the appropriate divisions within the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad."

"Care to explain?"

The Sharingan wielder began to rub his chin in thought, mimicking the stance that Gai assumed earlier. "As operatives of stealth, we are supposed to mask our essence from being detected. This is one aspect of the ANBU brand seal that is across the board: to absorb waste energy naturally given off by our bodies. In sum, the excess chakra that leaks from a shinobi branded with the seal gets stored there. It helps limit the essence that can be traced in our footsteps, among other things."

The jumpsuit-wearing ninja rubbed his chin again. "What is the ultimate end of that seal, then? Surely, there has to be a higher purpose." Sure enough, Gai's insight astounded those around him, if the hesitation from the other ninja was anything to go by.

If Kakashi grimaced, then it went unnoticed. "Well, the seal only activates when the branded shinobi dies by any means other than old age. The waste chakra that is stored by the seal ignites, causing a clean cremation of the body. The incineration leaves nothing behind." He could see Gai's unhappy look, but he tried to placate his…proclaimed 'youthful (Kakashi slightly cringed when _that _word passed through his mind) rival.' "Like I said, it only gets activated if the agent dies by unnatural methods, such as getting stabbed by shuriken or kunai or becoming jutsu fodder against a much stronger opponent. Even then, who's to say that the other seals act along similar fashions? What I'm addressing is the seal that my division carried."

Though Kakashi tried to lighten the mood, the humor came off as rather morbid, and it made Gai feel even more downtrodden for bringing up the topic in the first place. He just could not shake off that curiosity regarding the mark of the ANBU. It nagged at him to no end for quite a while, though.

Tenzō seemed to have rediscovered his voice after his initial uneasiness. "The seal is in place to ensure that the dirty secrets of Konohagakure no Sato stay secrets." He sighed through the immaculate porcelain. "It's the only way to keep Konoha safe and secure with the sector I have been assigned to. The operatives under the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, as a whole, have sworn their allegiance and their lives to protect the tree that is our homeland at any and all costs. That is all there is to it."

Once again, Gai hummed to himself in thought. "Well, what if one were to resign from the ANBU? Would the seal still remain active, despite the fact that one would not be serving under that organization?"

"You know," Kakashi voiced out loud, "that's a good question, Gai." His eye transformed into that annoying, upturned U-shape, which meant that he was smiling under the cloths that covered three-quarters of his face. "I guess we'll find that out if I somehow die one day…"

"If this is supposed to be some sort of sick humor used to lighten up the mood, Kakashi, then you are not really helping the situation at all," Gai opined with an atypical frown on his face.

"Ah…Sorry, sorry," Kakashi apologized halfheartedly while rubbing behind his head. "Well, I think that should be enough of a break, right?"

Tenzō looked up at the Sun's position in the sky through his mask, but it was so hard to discern due to the fact that the prominent shade filtered in a small fragment of light. "Perhaps it is, Kakashi-senpai. It looks like we can make it to the border in about three days or so, if we continue at the fast pace that we're traveling."

The taijutsu expert hummed again, but this time, in reflection. "All right…" He had then pumped his fist into the air. "Let us make haste and not waste, and if we do not make it in the allotted time, then I will do five hundred jumping jacks! And if I cannot do that, then I will do five hundred squats! And if I cannot do even that, then—"

"Gai, we're leaving," Kakashi deadpanned from a significant distance with ANBU comrades in tow, "and try to keep up." He oftentimes reveled in egging on the taijutsu expert with snide comments like that; it was a guilty pleasure unknown to most.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Gai yelled out before joining the crew in several graceful leaps.

XXXXXXXXXX

(26 September—1750)

The ever-burning celestial bodies glimmered in the twilight sky of that evening when the squad of four, led by Kakashi, set up camp to create some strategies that would somehow incorporate the forces from Kumogakure.

With naught but a thought and the serpent hand seal, Tenzō converted his chakra into the very life force of the planet before a relatively large, wooden house shot up from the ground, occupying the once-vacant glade.

"That was a success, if I do say so myself," the Mokuton wielder said while wiping his hands of perspiration and breathing in hard pants. It was his fifth attempt at crafting one out of his own chakra, and it finally worked. He really needed to brush up on more of the Shodai Hokage's hijutsu scrolls if he was going to get a better grasp of how to harness the unique chakra that was bestowed upon him. "If you need me, I'll be resting for a bit." The worn-out shinobi staggered into his own creation to replenish the chakra that he had lost.

"Even though I see it every time, I'm still blown away by how he does it," Yūgao commented as an aside to the older ninja in the green unitard. "Sometimes, he can be as obstinate as a mule."

"You're telling me, my lady ANBU-san," Gai uttered, equally impressed by how intricate in design the younger male built their temporary refuge. "Since when can anyone other than the Shodai Hokage utilize Mokuton?"

The sole kunoichi looked around cautiously. "It's a trade secret…classified…" She shook her head in the negative. "We can't disclose how he became like that, even among our fellow shinobi." She turned to face Gai. "I'm truly sorry."

"Worry not, my youthful flower!" Gai boomed while flexing one of his manly biceps. "I have learned one secret too many for today, so all is fine!"

"Do you have to be so loud, Gai-san?" Yūgao grumbled, rubbing her temples to prevent an oncoming headache. "I'm right by you, if you didn't already know."

"That's how Gai normally is, Yūgao," Kakashi intervened after checking up on Tenzō and exiting the wooden lodge. The gray-haired ninja rested his arms on the railing that lined the porch and placed his full weight on them. "He's…" He looked to the side to see his proclaimed rival giving a thumbs-up gesture and that complementary pinging smile in his direction. "…rather passionate about things. You'll get used to it in due time."

"Oh, yeah?" she asked while strutting up to the porch area. Her tone dropped as she asked in a whisper, "So, how do you cope with his…eccentricities? Surely, he'd get on your nerves from time to time."

Kakashi's visible eyebrow lifted a bit before his eye closed in that inverted U-shape again. "Oh, that's easy." He leaned in closer. "I just tune him out."

Though it could not be seen, Yūgao gave her superior a flat look, though her body language noted her disbelief. Her shoulders slumped a bit. _'This man can't be serious…'_

"Why the long face, Yūgao?" Kakashi asked lightheartedly, chuckling slightly while now standing upright. "If you continue to frown like that, then you might end up with wrinkles on your face before your twenty-first birthday."

"Shove it, Hatake," Yūgao groused, arms crossed across her developing bosom that was hidden behind the light gray vest of her ANBU attire.

"What?" he asked defensively. "It's true, you know."

Yūgao growled, "Whatever." She bumped past the cyclopean shinobi and into the constructed dwelling.

"Hmm…Must be that time of the month for her," the Copy Ninja pondered aloud, thumbing through his hip satchel. Checking his gear and equipment, something came to the forefront of his mind. Did he assign anyone to set up the lookout shifts? "Say, Gai, who gets first watch?"

"I believe that would be you, Kakashi, at nineteen-hundred," the Noble Green Beast replied, answering Kakashi's silent prayer, "and since I don't want to lag behind and be left in the dust by my cool and hip rival, I'll take the next watch at twenty-three-hundred…"

'_Here we go again…'_ Kakashi inwardly thought while Gai ranted and raved through the lookout times that were designated, not really paying attention to anyone else's but his own shifts.

"…and that should be the cycle of our night watches for the next few nights," Gai finished after some time.

"All right," he intoned and gave his peer a curt nod of appreciation. "Thanks, Gai." He turned around to go back inside the timber cottage where he found the sole kunoichi of the squad meditating in the living room area, sheathed ninjatō positioned across her lap, and legs crossed over one another in the shape of a lotus.

"You do know that mentioning our real names in front of Gai-san is a breach of identity, right, Kakashi-senpai?" Yūgao queried when she felt Kakashi's life force take up residence in the room. He looked down at the eyes that tried to drill into him…but it had no effect.

"Huh…I didn't take you for one to follow formalities," Kakashi unenthusiastically countered. "Either way, who in the ANBU has the kind of hair color that you do? What about Tenzō-kun? Once he utilizes a Wood Release technique, then his cover is immediately blown. Have you ever thought about that much, huh?" The tone lining his voice came off as rather smug and mildly denigrating. "So much for keeping up with appearances and anonymity…"

"What are you trying to say, exactly?" Yūgao asked in return, trying to keep her emotions in check. It would not do well to subvert the team leader and be charged with insubordination.

No…screw being classy! She carefully placed her blade behind her as she stood up to stare straight into Kakashi's languid eye, even though her mask did not reflect that. If looks could kill, Kakashi might have needed a closed-casket funeral. "Oh, I'm sorry. I can't be the extraordinarily gifted genius that is so stuck in his own little world of the past that he couldn't change!" The sardonic tone was not lost on anyone who probably heard.

Normally, Kakashi remained unflappable and just could not be bothered by anything, but what his junior blurted out struck a big nerve within his lanky frame.

"You got the audacity to be mentioning that, don't you?" He placed his arms on his hips. Reigning in his growing irritation, he continued with a slighted retort. "Well, then, perhaps you shouldn't criticize me when you spend more time courting someone who just isn't interested."

Yūgao's eyes narrowed dangerously while pointing an accusing, vibrating finger in his direction. "You just did _not_ bring him up…" she murmured.

Kakashi's exposed orb also adopted a stony glint that put an end to this petty argument. "So what if I did?"

She gnashed together her teeth in frustration while rustling her hands through her silky tresses. "Sometimes, you are too unbearable to work with. You do know that, right?"

"What ever gave you that idea?" Kakashi flatly asked. He knew that he was being an asshole, but did not really care at the time. When his junior apprentice brought up the incident that plagued Kakashi's mind for the last ten years or so, the gloves had to come off and he fought dirty by pandering to the young woman's insecurities for a potential lover.

Yūgao knew that she picked the wrong bout by provoking Hatake Kakashi…and probably lost when it came to grinding someone else's gears. Even worse, that probably landed her with demerits…or something far more serious, in terms of reprimands. "I'm just going to walk away, right now, and forget this conversation took place." Her tone carried the overbearing weight of defeat with each word that passed through her chaste lips.

As the lone kunoichi began to walk away, Kakashi's words made her come to a complete halt. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll assign codenames for you and Tenzō-kun before we reach the buffer zone. After I lay out the parameters in our mission briefing before our assigned vigils, you will receive them then. Furthermore, I will have to lay out my own set of guidelines for my squad mates." The cyclopean shinobi turned his back on the violet-haired kunoichi and calmly walked away to tend to whatever he had planned.

When the Copy Ninja said nothing else, Uzuki Yūgao assumed that the hanging silence was the unannounced dismissal, so she took that cue to double check on her equipment. Ascending the rickety set of stairs to one of the bedrooms on the second floor, she also thought about whetting her ninja blade to make sure that it sliced through anything with little resistance…

…or using it to emasculate a rather smug bastard that just so happened to be her squad leader when the opportunity passed by…

Not that she would admit it out loud, or anything…

XXXXXXXXXX

(Squad Lodge—1830)

The luminous flames from the candles surrounding the main chamber made the Copy Ninja's hair alternate from a platinum-silver to the color of volcanic ash as he stood up to address his teammates.

"All right," Kakashi spoke up after gathering his regiment. "Now that everyone's here, it's time to get started." He cleared his throat before flashing a few hand seals. As soon as the walls flashed brighter than the embers used to illuminate the living room, the eerie glow dissipated just as quickly. Now that the walls were rendered soundproof, the dog-summoning ninja continued. "As you all may know, there's something taking place in the neutral zone that requires our assistance, and since we don't want to be seen as encroachers, Kumo has decided to allow some of its troops to aid us in the situation at hand." He noted some uneasiness with his crew members. He felt the same tension in regard to the temporary alliance with the Hidden Cloud. Due to several kidnapping incidents that happened between Kumo and Konoha, in order to try to build up and bolster their forces, Konoha settled for a non-aggression pact, but the majority of ninja serving under the Land of Fire's banner were not so quick to forgive and forget. Why they desired more firepower, knowing that Kumo was rumored to harbor two jinchūriki, Kakashi would never understand.

Focusing back on what he wanted to convey, he looked at the two budding ANBU operatives. "You two are at ease, so please remove your masks."

The Mokuton wielder looked at his counterpart, shrugged, and complied with the command. He removed his alabaster mask to reveal his simple countenance, which was framed by a special type of hitai-ate where the shiny metal face protector held taut on account of a black, elastic band around the agent's forehead. His brown hair shaggily sprung up from the metallic border like deadened grass in a flowerpot. Though the dark undershirt was sleeveless, the turtleneck accompaniment concealed the man's well-defined neck.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice in the matter, now, do I?" Yūgao airily inquired. After seeing her superior's deadened look (or as close to annoyed that Kakashi allowed to show), she sighed in defeat and removed her face protector with an audible click. "Fine…whatever…" A pair of flat, onyx-toned eyes glowered at the solitary hazel of the Copy Ninja when the operative removed her mask. When her mask became undone, her mauve tresses fanned out and caressed her shoulders.

"Was it _that_ hard to follow my order?" Kakashi asked in a rhetorical manner. "You do know that this is all going on the report if—or when—we return, right? Your insubordination won't look well in your favor."

Completely missing the even glare from the lone kunoichi, he knelt down on one knee, fished through his rucksack, procured a marked-up map, and carefully laid it out in front of the three who sat quietly and patiently.

"Anyhow, the meeting place is here, in this location." He pointed to the circled area on the map, located between the Lands of Fire and Lightning. "Reports claimed that a strange group of individuals plundered cargo wagons whenever civvies passed by this piedmont region, in order to sell their produce. No one has seen the faces of the culprits due to their secretive natures. There were other reports that claimed that some faces were warped beyond understanding; almost as if they were altered into something…bestial…" His exposed eye scrunched up in deliberation for a brief moment.

"Beast-like?" Tenzō asked to no one in particular. "Does anyone know the cause as to why humans are being transformed?"

"From the reports, no, they haven't figured out much of anything, so we're basically going in blind," the Copy Ninja gravely answered before heavily sighing. "No matter how many leads we get, there always seems to be something that eludes us. That means this mission is not only infiltration, but surveying this group through reconnaissance, too. We have to scout around and look for clues to the mystery we're up against, and deliver our report." He took the time to pan across everyone's vision. "Hokage-sama specifically mentioned that we cannot use any techniques unless our cover is blown." He gazed at the two budding operatives in the ANBU. "That leads me to you two. Tenzō?"

"Yes?" he politely asked.

"If we by chance have to use any ninjutsu, only resort to Earth and Water Releases while you go by the codename of Jushi…"

Tenzō cleared his throat. "Pardon the interruption, Kakashi-senpai, but…sprout?"

"What about it?" Kakashi rebutted. "You're just now learning Wood Release, so I thought it to be appropriate." The smirk did not show through the face mask. "You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

"Uh…" the Mokuton wielder stammered, having lost the steam from his engines to refute, "no, not at all, Senpai…"

"Good," Kakashi continued, undeterred, "and as for you, Yūgao…"

"Hm?" She wondered what kind of oddball of a nickname came out of this ordeal. Hopefully, she could keep her sanity intact…

"…You're Horyū…"

A tick mark formed over her temple. "Are you calling me sickly, or someone of ill health, Senpai?" she asked, trying to maintain her composure.

Kakashi looked at his junior questionably. "Uh…no? It should mean 'purple willow,' if I recall correctly." He stroked his chin in silent amusement.

"Then, why not address me as Senryū?" she queried, trying to hide her growing frustration. "That means the same thing…and only that…"

"Because it was the only word that came to mind at the time," Kakashi responded evenly while rubbing the right side of his cheek. "Well, that and what I say, goes. Any other questions that you need answers for?"

Once again, there was that patented eye-smile of his, which further aggravated the purple-haired rookie.

The surly and defiant stare was not missed this time around. "I hate you. I want you to know that."

"Love you, too," the Copy Ninja dryly intoned before stifling a yawn. "Now, for the moment, nothing is concrete, since we don't know who's going to be our backup support just yet. However, out of the group, you should expect more sword-wielders to join in the possible fray, if there are any hostiles. We'll acclimate to the more fluid and flexible Formation C, since A and B are too rigid for anyone who isn't used to working with a Konoha ninja."

"So, we just play it safe, take note of their abilities, and then execute with caution but with some degree of liberty, focusing solely around the other persons' capabilities. Am I correct in saying that, Senpai?" Tenzō mentioned while rubbing his forefinger under his lip in contemplation.

"For the most part," Kakashi answered while shrugging. "I know that Kumo has capable fighters, so I'm not all that worried if things get a bit hairy…"

"Well, you know the old adage: expect the worst. Anything that can possibly go wrong, will, at the most inconvenient time possible," the Mokuton shinobi admitted with a foreboding tone.

"Hey!" Yūgao shouted. "Don't jinx it!"

"I see it as more so a self-fulfilling prophecy than anything, but who am I to complain?" Tenzō suggested while he shrugged indifferently. "I'm just saying it like I see it."

"That attitude is definitely not youthful in the least!" Gai harangued. "What is with all this glum negativity?" He lifted himself up to pace around with enthusiastic zeal. "We have to remain positive and think hopefully!"

"Gai, you're delusional," Kakashi intervened, making the unitard-wearing Jōnin pause in mid-step. "The shinobi world is not all fun and games and…healthy competition…" He trailed off as his facial features sagged more than usual. It made him appear older than his chronological age. "But, that's beside the point. We're reaching out into the unknown with this mission, and I, myself, am not sure if we'll come out of this unscathed."

For placing more emphasis on driving home his point, his left forefinger lethargically tapped in a haunting rhythm against the headband that covered up the reminder of how devastating a loss could be. "On the other hand, as your squad leader, I will make sure that that will not happen, come hell or high water." He made that a personal promise to not let anyone succumb to that sort of demise. Obito was a grave wake-up call for how a shinobi should function under Konoha's allegiance. It was a shame that his epiphany came a bit too late, when it really would have mattered between life and death. He was headstrong and arrogant at that point, but his teammate paid the ultimate price.

His female teammate, on the other hand, was still alive, but they were no longer on speaking terms. In fact, she spoke to no one and chose to live a life of solitude from active duty. Rin—poor Rin—screamed out for help in her time of need, but, regrettably, no one answered. He felt the distress in his veins; however, once again, due to pressing circumstances, he arrived too late, and the damage was already done to the poor young woman. It tore him up inside when he had found out what happened to her; it made him physically ill that he failed his promise to Obito that he would protect her and keep her safe.

During his inner thoughts, he unconsciously balled up his right fist that was hovering over the map. He was unaware of the fact that he exuded a bit of his murderous intent, but the energy had no directed focus to anyone in particular. _'Never again…'_ he reflected with firm resolve, hoping to catch the bastard who crossed that line. _'Never again will that happen to anyone else while I still draw breath in this world…and that one person will pay dearly for what he has done…'_

The Copy Ninja hazily felt a comforting grip on his shoulder. The hand belonged to Gai. "Easy there, Kakashi," he noted while trying to placate his peer. The aura he radiated put the two rookies of ANBU on edge, so he decided on his own to snap his friend out of his spiraling emotions. "There is no need to dwell on what could not be done. That was in the past. We should be more focused on what lies ahead for all of us." For kicks, he gave his 'cool and hip' rival one of his brightest smiles. "We will worry more about this later. Night watches are soon to start, and you have the first vigil…in no less than two minutes, at that."

Kakashi relaxed a bit. The decision to recruit Gai proved worthwhile, for he seemed to completely read and understand the aloof shinobi like a complex graphic manga. "Ah, right…" He turned to look at the two rookie shinobi, who looked at him silently...one out of curiosity and the other out of boredom, but both relayed a sense of caution on account of their body language. "That's all for tonight. We'll rest, recuperate, thoroughly check our equipment, and pack up shop bright and early. If there aren't any other immediate concerns, then you're all dismissed. Try to rest in between your shifts." He got up to adjust his spinal column with several soothing pops before walking out of the lodge. The crucial time allowed him to test out something that he wanted to try in such a long time.

'_I think we'll be all right, old friend,'_ he pondered to himself while thumbing the cord-wrapped hilt of the kodachi strapped to his back.

XXXXXXXXXX

(29 September, 1200 hours—Twenty-two days prior)

With a steady pace in the span of three days, the team of four noticed within their sights two candles lit by a wayside cottage in the woods, heading up to a junction, which led to a forest consisting of vibrant, warm-toned foliage on the left side, and a gravelly mountain pass on the right.

Kakashi's misty breath drifted out from his facial mask and petered out into light vapors as he adjusted his light-shaded cloak. He felt apathetic, at best, to the climate change in the autumn between the Land of Fire, which typically had a more consistent temperature average throughout the year, and the Land of Lightning, which had cooler temperature averages due to the changes in elevation. It was not at all uncommon for the Lightning Country to get frozen precipitation, such as freezing rain or snow, during that time of year, if there were favorable conditions for it.

The leader of the group panned his visible eye to the vacant, wooden dwelling, all the while breathing rather heavily from the speed set by the entire team, which was pretty taxing on all of their stamina. _'That must be one of Kumo's checkpoints…'_ he inwardly thought as he gazed at the burning wicks and the shrinking columns of wax. _'By the height of the candles, they were here for about twenty minutes before moving out…'_

"The zone is in sight, so stay alert," the Elite Ninja enunciated with a bit of caution in his tone. "The Kumo ninja are close by. Or rather, they were here…"

"Let us hope that this is not just a game of tag!" Gai boisterously bellowed in his hotheaded tone. "Either way, I would desire a thrilling chase full of youth!"

"The Hidden Cloud Village designed an elaborate pattern which we need to adhere to," the Copy Ninja commented, completely ignoring Gai's ranting. "Otherwise, if we fail to do so, then they will pull back and retreat to their home, if necessary." Kakashi walked up to the now-abandoned log cabin, snuffed out the candles and picked up the small note that was left behind.

"Hm…"

"What is it, Senpai?" Tenzō queried from behind his senior's shoulder.

"…_As swift as the wind…_" Kakashi read aloud. He shrugged before turning around to address the Mokuton-wielding agent. "That's what the note says."

The moonflower of the group snorted. "Hn…More proverbs and riddles, I take it?" she asked while leaning against one of the trees in the area to catch her breath.

"Surely seems like it," Kakashi outwardly mused as he tucked away the piece of parchment. "Well, let's get going. No use in burning daylight…"

"All right!" Gai boomed. "Let us run on the winds of youth!" He immediately began to dart a few meters ahead.

"Does he usually get this enthusiastic, Senpai?" the Mokuton user asked as an aside to his superior.

"You get used to it." Kakashi started to feel like a broken record.

XXXXXXXXXX

Several hours and riddles later, twilight began to enclose around the native inhabitants of the woodland as the Copy Ninja and his small task force found their way to the last checkpoint, which, by happenstance, had lighting on the inside.

'_I guess it's best to stay cautious and have my guard up…'_ the Copy Ninja surmised, wondering if there were any traps ready and set for them. After slowing down his pace, he warned his team, through an inconspicuous hand code, to stay wary of any surprises from here on out while he did all the talking.

With silent nods of accord, Kakashi carefully rapped a few taps on the wooden door. Soon after, a pair of amber eyes from a slotted opening came to his single-eyed vision. The light on the inside flooded the darkness surrounding the cabin in the woods.

"Who goes there?" the voice cautiously asked. The voice obviously belonged to a man of stocky build, for Kakashi noted a bit of labored breathing on the guy's part.

"We are the backup group supplied by Konohagakure no Sato," the ashen-haired shinobi responded with no hint of distrust in his intonation.

The golden eyes narrowed, revealing a bit more of his tanned skin that was obscured by the wooden opening. "How do I know if you're the real deal? You could be imposters, for all we know."

Kakashi held up the slips of paper in a neat fashion, with each correct line in the sequence. "_As swift as the wind…as firm as the woodland…rage like fire in pillaging…stand unyielding as a mountain…mask your plans like the darkness of night…and move as the force of thunder…_These are blurbs from _The Art of War_…the inviolable rules of combat from ancient times…"

He rubbed under his chin as he thought about a certain line. "Well," he continued as an aside, "now that you mention it, we don't plunder villages, anymore, so that point is kind of moot, nowadays…"

"Heh," the chunky man snorted while shaking his head. "You're the real deal, all right." He unlocked the door and opened it wide, allowing entry to the Konoha shinobi. As per his hunches, Kakashi noted the small and round appearance of the man garbed in the attire of a run-of-the-mill Kumo ninja – a standard-issue hitai-ate with white-colored cloth, black pants, and a functional style of tactical vest of the same hue as the forehead protector that consisted of only one strap to hold it in place. "Please, come in. I'm sure that you are weary from your travels…Hatake Kakashi…"

"I appreciate the offer…um…" Kakashi slightly hesitated due to not knowing the name of the burly Kumo-nin.

"The name is Hiroi, and I'm the squad leader in charge of this operation," the stout and pudgy man clarified for the Copy Ninja.

'_What a fitting name…'_ Kakashi mulled over in a rather mordant fashion.

XXXXXXXXXX

(1900 hours)

Despite the initial tension between the two groups, they managed to settle on cordial terms, before someone's temper flared because of open hostility.

Once things simmered down, as well as supplying introductions, Kakashi took in the appearance of the four guards sent by the Hidden Cloud. They were positioned in various corners of the empty cottage with little more in the way of furniture, save for some untidy daybeds. The four men had complexions that would normally never be seen in Konoha, for their tones appeared to be associated with the rich earth. The intense tinge gave them an even greater exotic look to match their striking, pale blond hair and honey-colored eyes.

Just as his insight allowed, the Copy Ninja noticed each of the members wielding a special brand of blade more suited to their liking. However, from what Kakashi perceived, the swords resembled more along the lines of exquisite kitchen utensils than anything.

The lanky shinobi, whose name was Usui, owned what looked like an imported machete from abroad; the buff ninja, who introduced himself as Kinniku, had what Kakashi assumed to be a fancy butcher's cleaver; and the shortest ninja who called himself Hikui possessed seemingly dull-edged tantō that could pass for a pair of ridged, meat-carving knives, instead. The leader, Hiroi, on the other hand, had a thin, flat, single-edged weapon with a beveled edge in front that reminded him of a really large usuba bōchō that he had seen professional chefs use when cutting up vegetables.

'_If I didn't take them for anything at face value, I'd assume that they were ninja chefs, given the weapons they have,'_ Kakashi thought to himself rather comically to lessen the depressing atmosphere. _'I wonder if they ever competed in such a challenge…'_

Regressing on the matter at hand, Kakashi ceased all aimless thoughts that floated within his mind. "Now that introductions are out of the way," he said quite seriously, "supply us with a situational report on current affairs, Hiroi-san. We need to cross-check and ensure that our intelligence coincides with yours."

"…Right," the stocky man responded after a hesitant pause and adjusting his position on the floor. The gray-haired shinobi swore that he heard Hiroi wheeze a bit before his reply. "My apologies, Kakashi-san, for I haven't…been in the best of health recently."

"That's okay. Just take…your time," Kakashi helpfully suggested in between the rotund ninja's coughing fit.

"If you don't mind, Captain Hiroi, may I relay our findings to Konoha?" Hikui softly asked while patting his watery-eyed commanding officer on the back. After a brief moment, Hiroi gave the shorter guy an affirmative nod.

"Very well, then," the proclaimed midget of the group continued. "During our scouting missions for the past few days, we may have uncovered something."

"And that would be…?" Kakashi questioned, pressing for more.

Hikui wavered before he spoke again. "Um…We have tracked down and monitored the activity of a potentially hostile group of individuals who call themselves the Cult of Jashin…under the Dark Sect, or something along those lines."

"The Cult of…Jashin?" Gai asked, his tone sounding intrigued. "I have never heard of such an organization, as far as I am concerned." His compatriots concurred, as well. No one in Konoha knew of this strange sect under some very shady order.

'_This demands further looking into…'_ the taijutsu expert mentally reasoned. The group could pose a threat, all things considered.

"…That's because the religious group has remained relatively off the radar of any of the world's biggest powerhouse nations," the muscular shinobi—Kinniku, Gai hastily remembered before he forgot—cut in with his bass-like tone. "They prefer to work low key, from what we gathered."

"Not only that," the leggy Usui added as he crouched onto the wooden floor, with his elegant sword—thankfully sheathed—as a steady support, "but there is also a rumor in circulation about the types of special items they possess." His thin brows furrowed in contemplation.

'Jushi' hummed in thought, while his ANBU partner remained silent and observant. "What is the rumor, then?"

"Given the stories we've heard," Hiroi spoke up after regaining his breath and composure, "legend states that, long ago, an evil spirit was trapped in a magical stone. This stone has the power to control minds…and alter bodies. No one knows of its whereabouts, but I highly suspect that that cult managed to get their grubby little paws on it. I, personally, want to find out why."

Kakashi carefully picked out his next set of words. "Have some reported that they were attacked by beast-like men around here?"

Kinniku cut his curious eyes over to the Copy Ninja while he stood at an angle with his foot propped against the wall. "As a matter of fact, yes, and it was from those reports that allowed us to triangulate the location of their base of operations." He kicked off the wooden wall and began to steadily pace around. "They've since held up in an abandoned castle located on the outskirts of this buffer zone…a few kilometers to the northwest. Other reports stated that the sect has hunter-gatherer tendencies and tend to wander around to forage for supplies and food…by any means necessary."

The Hatake scion pondered on the information at hand. "So, there's the link to our reports regarding the frequent convoy raids. It also appears that we have solid evidence that the cult has that rumored stone, though what their true purpose behind housing it remains to be known. I think we can make our move…"

The corpulent Hiroi interrupted the conversation. "Um…we can't, just yet." He coughed into his hand…almost hacked up a lung with the rapid progression of whooping coughs that rattled his frame.

"Why can we not?" the unitard-wearing Jōnin thundered after a period of silence. "If we do not take action fast, then I feel that we are all going to be in for a very rude awakening."

The strapping young Kinniku snorted in derision as he faced the green-clad Konoha shinobi. "Our high brass hasn't officially given us the green light to take action."

"That never stopped you in regard to the international kidnapping incidents in our bloody history," Kakashi chided. The opposition grew even thicker when the Copy Ninja's blunt jab unknowingly escaped his mouth.

"Hn…As if I'd be stupid enough to cross him," the wobbly-kneed Usui muttered as he stood and crossed his arms over his chest in a defiant manner. He shook his head to drive home the point. "Besides, he's nothing like the Sandaime. He'd kill me faster than I could even blink."

That was unforeseen news to Kakashi. _'I better send word to Sandaime-sama…'_

"Since when did that happen?" he casually wondered. Almost immediately, the group from Kumo shifted their postures to some extent, indicating that they felt on the defensive.

"That is none of your concern," Usui retorted in a clipped manner, frowning ever slightly.

"Please forgive Usui-san," Hikui timidly cut in, totally avoiding eye contact and found the floor relatively interesting.

"Yeah," Hiroi spoke up, sighing in resignation. "Usui-kun's mouth moves faster than his mind. He's just rambling nonsense. Pay no mind to him." The thin man just grunted his displeasure, for he decided to not dignify that with a response.

Before 'Horyū' (by the gods, how she hated that codename!) chimed in after her long time of listening in, a solid hand firmly gripped her own. She turned to look at her squad captain, who just shook his head in the negative.

In a low voice, Kakashi moved within earshot of the kunoichi. From the bystanders' perspectives, it almost looked like he was closing in for a kiss on her cheek, if the mask was not in the way. "It's best not to rile up Kumo-nin when they want to close a particular subject. Just like how they got secrets, so do we. We all have them." It felt necessary to show his authority as the group leader, since Yūgao was not seasoned enough to handle formalities between colleagues…even more so for strangers. He relayed to her a silent cue that they would go over that bit of news when they were alone, and when the time presented itself.

Kakashi decided to get things back on track, despite the fact that he almost reopened the can of worms. "Moving on, we need to focus. I'm assuming that, unless hard evidence is found, you cannot take direct action, right?"

Hiroi silently nodded in the affirmative, but he was irritated from within due to his subordinates slipping up on the undisclosed ousting of the Sandaime Raikage. "If you'll excuse me, I need to take my medicine." The hefty man lazily righted himself to venture into another sector of the temporary dwelling. He also took the time to get word from one of his pre-released summons—a miniature badger about the size of a grapefruit. Said rodent stayed quiet and calm while its master took a few swigs from what he called a prescription bottle. The tubby ninja eventually stashed away the medicinal container and panned his sight on his patient familiar.

"All right, my little friend," Hiroi kindly stated as he patted its furry head, "tell me what you found out…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Kakashi set his gaze to the direction where the Kumo task force leader scampered off. He then refocused his sights on the other three still in the dimly lit room.

"Is it just the mountain air, or is this pretty frequent for Hiroi-san?" he inquired as he tried to read each of their bodies for clues. He wondered if he trod on taboo ground when he asked about a ninja's condition, but someone like him could prove to be more of a liability than an asset, if things went to hell in a hand basket. He did not pick up any signs of hesitation or uneasiness, like with the deal regarding the leader of the Hidden Cloud, so he assumed that was sufficient.

The son of Sakumo thought he heard a frustrated sigh escape Kinniku's full set of lips. "It's probably the former, but my gut tells me that it's not. The air's pretty thick compared to where he's normally accustomed to working." Kakashi felt the concern in the brawny guy's deep voice. "We tried to dissuade him from coming along, but he adamantly stated that he was well enough for the mission. Somehow, I'm beginning to doubt that…"

"Kinniku's got a point," Usui added for emphasis before a yawn escaped his mouth. "I feel that it's just his asthma kicking him in the ass, right now. The fat-ass needs to lose some weight, at least."

"U-Usui-san," Hikui indignantly sputtered, "you can't say things like that about Captain Hiroi!"

The tall, lanky fellow just grumbled with his hands intertwined behind his pale, blond afro, "So, what? Like I give a damn…"

'_Reminds me of a certain junior kunoichi under my wing…'_ the ashen-haired ninja reflected while his mouth etched into a thin line behind his face cover.

Heavy footfalls grabbed Kakashi's attention, as well as his teammates, when the Kumo squad captain returned. Hiroi's face, on the other hand, mirrored a grave concern. Warning bells started to ring in the Copy Ninja's mind when he saw that look.

The hefty man heaved a sigh before he relayed his findings to the group. "My source has gotten word that the Jashin worshipers are going to attend a special type of religious sermon in nine days or so."

"…How certain are you with this information?" Kakashi asked, partial skepticism lining his voice. "How do you know that it isn't a false lead?"

"Fairly," Hiroi remarked in a curt manner. "I'm sure we can discover the true purpose to their stirring trouble in this demilitarized zone in the first place."

"All right," Kakashi noted as he crossed his arms. "That's fair enough. My squad will rendezvous with yours in one week. This is so we can send off information to our commanding officer, as well as making further preparations." In disguise, he wanted to distance his task force, himself included, as far away as possible from the Kumo group. He was far from xenophobic, but he always felt that ninja from the Hidden Cloud had some scheming agenda that was never stated outright.

"By your leave, Kakashi." The portly man gave the Copy Ninja a polite bow for dismissal, totally ruling out the hidden hostility. It proved as a valid excuse for them to depart. "We'll assess the situation in order to get a more accurate picture, as well as compiling the layout of the castle…if things go south."

"Never hurts to be careful." The double meaning was apparently lost between both party leaders. Kakashi then wordlessly nodded in the tubby ninja's direction. "Well, gang, time to move out." Cheery smile and all, the Hatake heir turned at an about face and marched out of the wooden dwelling.

XXXXXXXXXX

(5 October, 0100 hours—Sixteen days prior)

Within a six-day time lapse, Kakashi summoned one of his ninja canines to deliver his report to the teller clerk within the Hokage Tower. Since his familiars traveled faster than a human on foot, he sure hoped that the Hokage received it in time.

The Copy Ninja then pondered on what was occurring back home, since his personal familiar caught wind of some troubling news and conveyed it to him. Apparently, the old militarist from the seemingly disbanded Root, Shimura Danzō, was marked for death. Granted, since he lent a hand in his apprehension, it stood to reason that Sarutobi-sama was taking that matter pretty seriously. He also found out that, not too long ago, some Chūnin that worked at the Academy got detained by the ANBU in the Hokage's own office.

Kakashi gave a low whistle at that before he found out who was affected by Kachū Takeshi and his actions…

In the current time, he bit back a wince while soothing his mind over a few sword stances and forms. While on guard duty, he had plenty of time to keep a vigilant eye on his team, so the rest of the minutes were dispersed through some training with his father's restored blade.

He never admitted it aloud (and never would, under pain of death), but, in the back of his mind, he felt that he dishonored his mentor's final wishes, just like the rest of the populace. However, Kakashi chose to maintain as much distance as possible from those painful memories—and the child in question that sprouted that grief—by being immersed in a myriad of missions.

Refocusing on his kata, he cleared his mind of whimsy in order to channel his element into his enlarged dagger. A soft hum accompanied the crackling electricity flowing from his right arm into the chakra-conducive material as he crossed over his limbs into an X-shaped pattern. The enlarged tantō was held in a reverse grip, with the blade's tip pointing away from his body.

'_Might as well give my audience a show…'_ Kakashi mused as he closed his eyes and opened his mind to draw forth the memory of one of his blade dances from many years before.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Relocated Squad Lodge—0058)

The lone moonflower felt unable to rest as she steadily gazed at the full moon in its milky-white splendor from the top of another wooden cottage made by her ANBU accomplice. She abhorred these sleepless nights with a fiery passion, but the moon helped her relax when something plagued her mind. It allowed her to find solace from deep within, so to mention.

Her rapt attention shifted when she felt a small spike of chakra come from the direction where her superior left. It was subtle enough to elude the senses of lower ninja, but for one in the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, along with the skills, she had to identify the shifts in energy to a near science during her previous instruction.

'_Could it be that he's engaging an enemy?'_ Yūgao grimly thought as she adjusted her porcelain mask. _'I have to hurry if he's in trouble…'_

Leaping off the wooden house, she gradually channeled a small portion of chakra into her senses to augment them a slight amount to become aware to the energies of the working world. Getting a better pinpoint on Kakashi-senpai's location, Yūgao dashed as fast as her legs carried her into the woods. She sprang from tree branch to tree branch in her mad dash, all the while remaining as quiet as she could allow.

'_I could be overreacting,'_ she reasoned to herself, _'but I have to make sure that Senpai is all right.'_

Her sprint through the greenery landed her a small distance from her superior's life force signature, a few hundred meters from their location.

She cautiously looked around the cluster of trees while she kept on high alert. _'I don't sense anyone, here…'_

Suddenly, a minuscule spark of light caught her wandering eye a few meters due north.

'_There!'_

The lone kunoichi darted into the upper canopy to conceal her frame within the darkness. She had to give the situation a bit of space, in case things got hairy.

Upon careful inspection, Yūgao lowered her guard and sighed, but still kept attentive.

'_I got worked up over this?'_ she pondered in disbelief.

There was no danger. Her commanding officer stood in a clearing of open grass while he practiced with that strange-looking blade…

She never knew how it happened, but when she gazed upon that glimmering weapon, she felt unable to pry her eyes away from it.

Yūgao became mesmerized by the dazzling display of kenjutsu that she witnessed from her superior. How the moonlight's gleam polished the glazed, sharp blade-edge left her even more spellbound and speechless. The elegant blade, from her memory's recollection, was now a bit longer than the size of a standard tantō but just short of being declared a wakizashi, by exact measurements. The sophisticated luster had a sleeker, darker feel to it, almost as if the blade was dipped in liquid silver.

For several seconds, Kakashi seemed to pause in his routine before he summoned another burst of chakra and altered the position of holding his really large dirk; this time, he channeled his own element into the blade, thus extending its cutting range to match that of the ninja sword she was currently wielding. It looked like an enchanted outline of a thin wing from his right palm as it droned in a strange melody.

The Copy Ninja lunged with a right hook, twisting his upper body and taking the imbued blade for a horizontal swipe as a radiant aftereffect, followed by diagonal arc as he thrust upward while he shifted his left foot forward in a bent step. Suddenly, the moonflower noticed that Kakashi shifted his full weight on his right foot, which acted as a pivot point, before twisting again in an angular slash. She did not see when Kakashi began to grasp the elongated dagger in a sword-like grip within the spinning kata, but he managed to do so through sleight of hand.

The ashen-haired shinobi, on the other hand, was far from finished. He chucked the blade from his hold in an upward ascent, but before the inertia caught up with it, he clutched the silky-white ribbon attached to the pommel of the blade and swung it down and around. The lightning still coursed through the energy-conducive metal as Kakashi went on a wild frenzy with shorter swings followed by wider-ranged arcs.

Yūgao's breath caught in her throat. She was utterly bowled over by the graceful and fluid movements; it felt to her as if she watched a deadly dance number in progress—something that should have been unbidden to curious eyes. What further impressed her (and personally loathed to admit) was that Kakashi had focused on developing a jutsu that extended the blade's length, in order to supply him with flexibility and a wider range, not including the strip on the pommel. Truth be told, she never saw her senpai use something along the lines of that while he remained in the ANBU, prior to his premature retirement.

Weaving in and out of a fixed breadth, Kakashi tugged and launched the enchanted knife in many chaotic swings and curving sweeps while shifting his feet to follow the rhythm of the dance's flow. The ninjutsu specialist kicked up his feet for a roundhouse, but he then placed momentum behind it, bringing the other leg with him for a horizontal cartwheel.

The resulting force, once he righted himself with his knees bent at square angles, dragged his father's renovated blade forward in a rectilinear motion, his right hand held out with the palm facing outward and fingers unclenched. With a simple tug, the ribbon held between Kakashi's thumb and forefinger halted its trajectory path and made the blade retreat a bit. As it returned to the comfort of its owner's firm grip, Kakashi twisted his wrist so it bent even lower, but it did not touch the ground. With one final jerk, the Copy Ninja guided his tantō into its custom-made sheath with the right amount of distance, so he did not risk cutting a part of his body. After he released the alabaster trimming, it seemed to snake around the hilt all on its own, strangely enough, before it held in adhesion against it.

'_Hm…This needs more work, but at least I managed to avoid grounding the saber,'_ he reasoned to himself over his observations as he scratched his head. He still noticed the faintest flicker of chakra that remained where it was. He emitted a relaxing sigh. _'Might as well call her out…'_

"You may as well come out of hiding, 'Horyū,'" Kakashi clearly spoke out amidst the clearing. "I know you're there."

'_Huh?'_ Yūgao barely paid any attention to what her leader had said, before it caught up with her. _'Oh…damn it. He totally knew I was watching him…'_

Soon after, the mauve-haired kunoichi landed with a soft thud of her sandals, right next to Kakashi.

"Is there any reason why you're still up?" Kakashi asked as he gazed out at a few stars. "You know that your shift doesn't start for another few hours." From what he recalled correctly, he and Yūgao were in charge of this night's watch, since Tenzō and Gai had the entire night to sleep from yesterday's guard duty.

"Couldn't sleep," the moonflower noted while she shrugged. "Something's just nagging at me."

"Oh?" Kakashi sounded mildly interested as he turned to face her. "About what?"

"I don't know," she answered as best as she could, "but it's just…a feeling. Call it a hunch."

"Well, that's specific," the Copy Ninja sarcastically commented.

"Will you knock it off?" she grumbled. "I'm just…feeling something…something that may go down…"

Now, Kakashi got serious. "You have the same feeling, too? The same ominous foreboding?"

The ANBU rookie bobbed her head in acquiescence.

"Well, then," he muttered, "I suppose you're learning how to finely shape that sixth sense for a ninja."

"Sixth sense?"

"It's a carefully tuned skill that comes with grueling training and many trials and errors along your career," Kakashi explained. "You know when something's in the air, and you can't exactly pinpoint it, but you know about the general direction where you need to go. Only time will increase its reliability."

"…I see…" She did not know how to respond to that, so she opted to change the subject. "So, what was it that you were doing, just now?"

"Eh, a little something I've been working on," the Copy Ninja vaguely responded. "I still haven't coined a name for it, though." He then shrugged off his worry, deciding to mull over it for later. "I'll burn that bridge when I cross it."

"Shouldn't that be 'burning the bridge _after_ you cross it?'"

Completely ignoring what Yūgao asked, Kakashi stood still for several seconds and whiffed in the fresh night air. "Well, I think I got in enough training for the night, so I'll head back on watch, now. You go and get some rest, okay?"

Yūgao just looked at him in an odd manner; somewhat peeved that he totally brushed her off, even though the mask withheld her expression from view. "I can try…Won't mean that it'll work, though."

"Try counting backwards," Kakashi wryly suggested as he sauntered off. He looked back and showed off his upturned eye, indicating that he was, indeed, smiling under that mysterious mask. "It works for me."

'_Typical Kakashi for you…'_ the kunoichi of the group thought just as dryly as her shoulders slumped. _'Never ask Kakashi for advice…'_

XXXXXXXXXX

(8 October, 2000 hours—Thirteen days prior)

After meeting up with the group from the Hidden Cloud roughly two days ago, Hiroi gave Kakashi the tip-off that the sermon had been scheduled for a moderately late hour…two hours from the current moment, as a matter of fact. Checking and double-checking his set of supplies and gear, he felt ready for this first stakeout.

The plan of action involved a couple of surveillance watches to monitor the activities of the Jashin cult, but this time, the preparedness to act accordingly was allowed, if their cover was blown like leaves in the wind or if some members of the party felt the justification to do as such. The Copy Ninja felt the need to make sure no one got sealing-happy with ninjutsu, and even then, he came to a conclusion, long ago, that held true even now:

_Plans never survived contact with the enemy…_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A/N (Afterword)**: All right, ladies and gentlemen, I think that I will sever this chapter in half, for the sake of posting something to offset my indefinite time away from churning out chapters. I am not certain when the next half will appear, but I do hope to finish out this flashback mission, since it seems to be spiraling out of my control in its lengthy format. Either way, compared to what's going on, not much is happening to drive the 'plot,' but there is a point to all this madness. You have to set up things before knocking them down like dominoes.

Apologies ahead of time if I left alone this fic for over a year, but you all know how real life can interfere, right?

(That was rhetorical, mind you now.)

At any rate, for those who are confused about the ages of the shinobi cast in this current timeline, Kakashi and Gai are twenty-two, Tenzō (codenamed Yamato from canon) is eighteen, and Yūgao is the youngest of the four at seventeen; however, she will be the same age as her ANBU counterpart by the time the third of November rolls around (in my fic, of course).

Regarding the ANBU brand, that was an angle that I personally decided to take when it came to that. It has to serve some higher purpose, in my opinion, so after watching a filler arc from the Shippūden continuum (strange, huh? A filler arc that was useful?), there was my end result.

I was also hit by inspiration when I was at work, so the four Kumo ninja with their special kitchen-based weapons found a place within this chapter.

Now, I will take the time to give credit where credit is due, to my pre-readers, for were it not for them, this chapter would not have been as smooth as they have made it: **pudgypudge, Shivakashi, Paladeus, Kidd Death, Arashi the Solar Phoenix, weixuan18, madaziz, EliadS**

Anyhow, let me know what you all think (be respectful and cordial, _please_), and until next time, I hope that you enjoy your day (or night, depending on your time zone), ladies and gentlemen.

_Next time: Infiltrate the Jashin Cult (Part II), where things fall apart at the seams…_

**Rōmaji/Jutsu Guide**

六道仙人 **Rikudō Sennin**: literally, "Sage of the Six Paths" or "Six Paths Hermit"; founding father/revolutionary whose changes brought forth a great upheaval to the chaotic eras of the shinobi

木遁 **Mokuton**: literally, "Wood Release"

忍者刀 **Ninjatō**: literally, "ninja sword"; common name associated with the fictional weapon of choice that most ninja would carry on their person; oftentimes has a straighter, smaller blade-edge than a typical katana

秘術 **Hijutsu**: literally, "secret art" or "secret technique"

額当て **Hitai-ate**: forehead protector; part of a ninja's accessories, it is a cloth headband that is worn by the vast majority of the shinobi forces in the _Naruto_ world; oftentimes has a metal plating with an engraved marking/symbol of the ninja's native hidden village; this special outerwear indicates that one is a capable shinobi

竪子 **Jushi**: "sprout"; also carries the connotation of "lad" or "stripling" (another term for young man)

蒲柳 **Horyū**: "purple willow"; also carries the connotation of "infirmity" or "delicate constitution"

川柳 **Senryū**: from the kanji meaning "river willow," it also means "purple willow" (noun)—The conversation in which the two meanings come about were meant to convey confusion, and how one word can mean something entirely different in context. In short, the meaning was misconstrued between junior and senior.

小太刀 **Kodachi**: literally, "small or short sword," and it is a catch-all term for any sword too long to be considered a dagger or too short to be called a sword

広い **Hiroi**: "thick" or "wide"; since he is a character in this continuum, his name is placed in katakana as ヒロイ, for all intents and purposes

薄刃包丁**Usuba bōchō**: literally, "thin bladed carving-knife"; the traditional vegetable knife for the professional Japanese chef

薄い**Usui**: "thin"; since he is a minor character in this continuum, his name is placed in katakana (ウスイ)

筋肉**Kinniku**: "muscle"; for all intents and purposes, his name, like the others, is placed in katakana (キンニク)

低い**Hikui**: "low" or "short"; this minor character's name is placed in katakana, along with the Kumo Four in this chapter (ヒクイ)

剣術 **Kenjutsu**: literally, "sword technique," "fencing," or "art of the sword"; pertains to techniques that entail the usage of swords

脇差**Wakizashi**: literally, "sidearm"; a specific term for a class of short swords


	4. Infiltrate the Jashin Cult: Part II

**_Chapter Three_**_: Infiltrate the Jashin Cult (Part II)_

Two hours later found Kakashi, Gai, Tenzō and Yūgao meeting up with Hiroi, Kinniku, Hikui and Usui from Kumogakure in another glade within the forest surrounding the castle, which then turned out to be a sprawling Shintō monastery.

"All right, guys…and gal," Kakashi corrected when his junior kunoichi's mask turned in his direction, "do you know your stations?"

With the multitude of nods circulating through the group, Kakashi gave the signal—a slight wave of his right hand in a forty-five-degree angle away from him. "Scatter."

Based upon prior group consensus, a Konoha ninja paired off with one from Kumo to form a paired unit. The Copy Ninja decided to team up with the squad leader from Kumo, while Yūgao opted to partner with the lanky Usui. Tenzō, on the other hand, chose to keep a close eye on the fidgety Hikui, since he seemed to always jump at anything…even his own shadow. That left the taijutsu extraordinaire with the muscle-bound Kinniku. Each of the four groups fluttered through the forest to one of the four designated points for the stakeout around the premises: team leaders moved due north; support team, due south; combat-exhaust team, due east; and medic team, due west. Word circulated around that the homily was going to be held in another, larger dell before the entrance to the castle. For that reason, each pair took a section of forest surrounding the designated place of the ceremony for further observation and gathering any extra data, if the need called for it, though it was highly unlikely.

Once everyone got into position, hidden from view with telecom radios synchronized, they all noticed a huge crowd of roughly eighty strong, each face—human or those transformed into that of a heinous creature—focusing on a trio of individuals directly in the center.

The one that stood out the most appeared to be a very bloated woman who looked like she was with child, flanking the right of another individual. Out of the triad in the middle of the group, she took up the most space with her amethyst attire, and she had what resembled a gunbai—a large, solid, open iron fan that could not be folded—strapped to her back. Something in the back of Kakashi's mind started to fire off huge warning signals about that person. Her pregnant appearance was far more than what the trained eyes perceived or let on. Something just screamed wrong when he got a feel of the strange aura radiating off of her.

If the woman exuded a bizarre essence, then the man beside her, to her perspective right, gave off a chilling, more terrifying presence. Most of his face was concealed from sight due to what seemed to be a helmet made out of a creepy, hollowed-out ram's skull, spiraling horns and all. On the other hand, his firm jawline remained uncovered, displaying his rather fair, wheat skin underneath, along with his raven-black hair that cascaded down to his broad shoulders and reached to the center of his back. The man stood the tallest at close to two meters, at rough estimate. His ceremonial regalia truly disturbed the Copy Ninja, for he was decked out in bone motifs—little, pristine skulls tied around a sturdy wire for a necklace, sharp teeth lining around his wrists for bracelets, and he had what appeared to be a club made from the femurs of human beings stashed on his person. Matching with the blood-red and black robes, pants and shirt, the man had an imposing figure. That was not Kakashi's immediate concern, for he turned to see what appeared to be a shakujō, a religious relic used in worship or as a functional bludgeoning or stabbing weapon, depending on the area of impact. The six-ringed staff easily matched his frame, and then some.

To the man's left was a rather young female, also decorated with bone-themed apparel—most notably, the bleached tiara on the crest of her head, which consisted of what could have been a shark's mandible, jagged teeth lining the rim holding it in place. The ivory crown stuck out from her forest-green hair. She clutched what looked like a scepter made of bone, as well, with a spherical, ruby jewel lodged around what resembled grasping claws, in the palm of her petite hand. Her empty set of digits dropped into the lap of her silky-white traditional gown as her mouth started to move and utter unintelligible sounds, from where the entire group stayed posted.

The frightening figure in the dead center of the throng of people elevated the khakkhara into the air, rings clanging among one another in a sinister cadence, and with naught but a thought and a half-Ram seal, the earth began to quake until a central dais and two flanking pedestals erupted into view, raising the two women and him a few meters off the ground. The onlookers merely peered up at their enlightened ones in awe and childlike wonder.

"Everyone," Kakashi calmly alerted over the transmission headsets, "do not move. I repeat: do _not_ move, and do _not_ engage." He felt chakra shifts from his companions all over the forest when they witnessed that display of earth-natured manipulation with almost close to no hand seals. _'That man must be rather talented…'_

White noise accompanied a small response. "C-copy that…" The voice obviously belonged to the vertically challenged Hikui.

"Roger!" Gai boomed over his static.

"…Understood." Usui's tone came through rather clear, due to the fact that he and 'Horyū' were in an area with better reception.

The Copy Ninja was about to relay another message for orders, but a toneless voice permeated the entire clearing, despite the lack of acoustics.

"My brothers and sisters," the man crisply announced with clear enunciation, "in the name of the almighty Jashin, I ask that you bow your heads in His honorable name, while I administer our call to prayer…"

Kakashi and the others immediately sensed something amiss with the strange chanting emanating from the eerie-looking man. The driving lyrics, in tandem with the jingling of the bishop staff's rings, felt melodious on the surface, but he, in particular, noticed the subtle tug of hypnotic suggestions running under the current of that seemingly sweet song.

_'Is this a blanket genjutsu to control the masses? Just what in the world is going on? My body's trying to move on its own!'_ Even his body conflicted with the rational thought of his mind, but, with enough effort, he managed to stay put. _'Whew…I have to keep myself under control, and I don't want to blow my cover…'_

To the scouting group's relief, the rhythmic hymn ceased with a decrescendo; however, the man's voice swept over them like a frigid wind once his followers became transfixed and attentive to the beginning of his discourse. "I, Mōkotsu, am truly humbled by all who have decided to work alongside my cause. I cannot stress that enough…" His charming charisma drew forth howls, bellows and growls of approval from those transformed, and mindless praise from those who have yet to be altered. He raised his left hand into the air to quiet the crowd. "It is truly an eye-opener to gain support after starting out small, but, in time, our numbers have grown rather considerably, so it is not I, but you in attendance, who should be thanked…"

_'This guy's _really _laying it on thick, isn't he?'_ Yūgao bitterly thought from her crouched position on a branch, binoculars in hand, as the collective hive mind initiated another period of hullabaloo. The body language totally gave away the enchanting sway of mind control on those who had less than adequate intelligence. She, too, felt the pull, but she immediately disrupted her own chakra flow in order to let it pass over her.

After pacifying his Jashin faction, the man who called himself Mōkotsu continued as he held his hands in prayer, shakujō tightly clutched between them. "With everyone having a different reason to join my coalition, we have one goal in common: to plunge the world back into chaos and destruction, and we shall march to other temples, gathering more to our cause. Soon, we will terrorize small townships and work our way up the food chain: villages, towns, cities, and, eventually, entire empires!" As his voice grew louder in passion, the mass of Jashinists exalted their cleric on high, due to his powerful allure.

"We shall convert all to our common goal by delivering His rightly deserved judgment to those who blaspheme against the good name of Jashin-sama!" The shouts grew in intensity as some convulsed in sickening amusement. The High Cleric of the Jashin Faith balled up his right hand into a fist and held it in a manner akin to someone crushing an apple. "We shall deliver them an ultimatum: cower beneath the dirt and submit to our glorious cause…or die…" The man's noxious, indigo aura erupted and washed over the horde of devotees, and they wallowed in it like a mystical bath of joy and wonder.

The scene in front of Kakashi made his senses go haywire. Someone of his stoic nature had a self-composed, detached façade; however, that display of power made him feel indescribable. A torrent of emotions began to bubble beneath his calm exterior—panic, uneasiness, trepidation…

_'This man is truly in a league of his own…'_

Once his supporters drank in his overflowing essence, the phenom of a man shook his tall rod, permitting the six brass rings to rattle again, and quieted the rowdy bunch. "Now that you have had your fill, I will now ask the chosen Oracle, Sanada Chiaki, to give us the forecast of our endeavors. I hope that all is in our favor."

The young woman in the flowing garb ceased her incoherent mutterings as a soothing fuchsia energy enveloped her petite frame. The one known as Chiaki now held the miniature rod close to her small, perky bosom and closed her eyes, crimson jewel beginning to pulsate in resonance with her chakra. The meditative trance apparently allowed the woman to tap into her powers of precognition.

Her eyes essentially pinched closed, she uttered in a soft voice, "I sense…great sorrow…and I also sense…a great storm approaching…"

Hearing just that caused Mōkotsu to slightly frown. Certainly, that did not bode well for things to come. "Is there anything else, Chiaki-dono?"

"Yes, Mōkotsu-sama," her soft voice answered as she opened her eyes. The chakra flux began to peter out, and her eyes made a smooth transition from magenta to their original hue, which was akin to her hair. "…I have envisioned leaves of a tree…standing strong and sturdy under a cloudy sky…" That was her passive warning to the group that intruded on their precious homily, though she kept it as close to ambiguous as she allowed. She witnessed great strife…on both ends of the spectrum, and she personally decided to keep the balance of the divergent forces at work.

Though he tried to hide it, the ashen-haired shinobi felt a shiver run down his spine at that statement. Did she discover who they were?

The large man hummed in thought as he stroked his chin. "I see." Soon, his charm was back in full force. "Well, then, I suppose that this suffices for the evening." He patted his strong hand upon Chiaki's soft hair, muttering quick thanks in return. "We will meet again, next week, to undergo our monthly ritual, lead by our own Keeper of the Stone, On." He made a motion with his khakkhara toward the bloated woman. "Until then, I shall adjourn this sermon. Stay strong for Jashin-sama, and kill in His name…"

The one known as Mōkotsu slammed down his elongated staff, which, in turn, shifted the earth from underneath the triad and forced it to collapse into its natural, untouched state. With an unknown signal, the two women vanished without much of a trace to the naked eye, leaving the Jashin cleric to his devices. He briskly paced a few meters away from the cackle of his disciples when a small boy—no older than fourteen, the bone-wearer assumed—dashed toward him in a frantic pace. The slicked-back gray hair and strange-colored eyes immediately placed a name to his face.

"Ah, Brother Hidan," Mōkotsu cordially intoned, turning around to greet one of his many wards, "what can I do for you?" The tall cleric easily blocked an oncoming kick with his shakujō. It was the normal routine for the young kid, in his eyes. After boosting morale amongst the group, this one boy, in particular, was ready to pick a fight. When he brushed aside the young boy's efforts, he noticed that heat of passion for battle in his light-purple eyes. There was more to Hidan that what met the eye, but the bone-collector often wondered as to why he became the target.

"I'm gonna tear you to shreds, asshole!" Hidan rumbled as he righted himself. "Prepare yourself to get crushed!"

Mōkotsu just merely shook his head, clucking his teeth. "My, my…such fire you have, my boy," he casually commented. "It will take longer than you can imagine if you want to best me in combat."

Hidan snorted in defiance. His menacing look reminded the Jashin prophet of a bull. "One day, you old freak…"

"You know, Brother Hidan," Mōkotsu politely stated, interrupting the young man's oncoming rant, "I simply do not follow Jashin-sama as blindly as the others would presume."

That disarming comment seemed to have stopped Hidan in his tracks. "What the hell are you on about, you ancient geezer?"

"It is a simple statement, my fellow brother," he answered, completely unfazed by Hidan's outburst. "My relationship with Jashin-sama is mutually beneficial, to a degree." His available hand delicately caressed and coddled one of his 'trophies' along his bone-encrusted necklace. "Jashin-sama demands the life, but he leaves me the bones. I prefer the precious bones, anyhow. They speak to me; they tell me things…things Jashin-sama will not disclose to me. When Jashin-sama's love does not warm me during those cold nights, the bones do, instead."

He tilted his head toward the night sky and dreamily sighed as he continued with an unknown enthusiasm. "Before Jashin-sama found me, I followed the bones. They would call to me, sing to me from the flesh, and I would save them…liberate them. The flesh is weak, but the bones are strong, Brother Hidan. Long after the flesh is gone, along with the blood, the bones shall remain."

The young acolyte looked at his pastor with a quizzical gaze. "So, what of it?" he asked. "Are you just fucking crazy about some stinking, old bones?"

Mōkotsu simply disagreed with a shake of his head. "I am not crazy, my Brother. I just know what I know. Long after our flesh has rotted away, and long after you will have left for Jashin-sama's embrace of death, I shall linger on, in this world, with just the bones…and me, of course. When all is turned back to the dust of the earth, I shall reign upon a throne of bones."

The juvenile before him sputtered in outrage and disgust before he found his voice. "Jashin-sama will not allow you to sit on a throne so high, blasphemer!"

The skull-wearing ecclesiastic brushed off the jab. "It matters not. When my service is done, and all life is but dust and echoes, what need has Jashin-sama for me? I care not for the flesh and the blood, for that is His domain. I shall take my bones, sing a song of praise in His glorious name and be content."

Hidan clenched his teeth. He still did not like the man's reasoning, for it contradicted a lot of what he usually spouted during his riveting sermons of praise. "Whatever," he managed to grumble out before leaving. "Mark my words, you old bat! You will die by my hands!" The crazed look disappeared as quickly as it came to his face before he stomped off in the opposite direction.

_'Oh, indeed,'_ the devout priest mused as he lightly shook his khakkhara, the brass rings clanging out in dissonance once more. _'I see potential in this boy, and I hope you see the same as well, Jashin-sama…'_

XXXXXXXXXX

Shaken beneath his placid demeanor, Kakashi ordered the group to fall back and regroup. The other seven ninja must have had hot coals placed in their trousers, because, as soon as he uttered the command via radio, they gathered around like a flock of flustered pigeons.

"Is everyone all right?" the Copy-Ninja asked, knowing good and well that no one was in good spirits.

"Who the hell was that guy?" the sole kunoichi inquired, trying as best as she could to keep the fear from ripping through her being.

"Those…creatures…drank in his chakra like they were reveling in a bloodbath!" Usui barked out. "They aren't human! They're just monsters in disguise!"

"His chakra was foul," 'Jushi' duly noted, keeping as calm as he allowed. "It consisted of a taint likened to that of a bijū, if I were to make a rough estimate." He reflected on what he discerned through observation. "However, nothing around him died off, so that is rather mysterious."

"Either way," Kakashi chimed in and held his chin, "we have to lay low for now, since our stakeout had been compromised from the very start."

"W-What do you mean, Kakashi-san?" Hikui asked, not even hiding how traumatized he had become due to what he observed.

"Well," Kakashi began to answer, "the oracle already knew we were around the area, and she personally warned us to stay away." He tried to calm himself and keep his mind focused on the rational aspects. "Think about it. Tree leaves? Cloudy? Do you get it, now?"

Gai finally took the time to place in his two cents. "Hmm…I guess we must not tempt the unknown." His tone held an uncharacteristically serious one. "We shall play by their rules, for now. If they so choose to engage us, then so be it." Then, the taijutsu specialist displayed a gleaming smile and gave his signature 'nice guy pose'—left arm bent at his hip, right hand in that thumbs up gesture, and a wink. "We will stand tall and fight our hearts out in the name of youth!"

For some reason, Kakashi felt at ease, once again. _'Maybe I don't have anything to worry about…'_

"There's the Gai I've come to know…" Kakashi actually held a bit of praise in his voice, all of a sudden.

With a newfound courage, the squad leader from Konoha barked out orders to prepare for the week ahead. This time, he vowed that they were going to show no mercy if the Jashin cultists sparked the volatile powder keg…

They were going to be prepared.

XXXXXXXXXX

(17 October, 0130)

"Um…It seems like we were caught with our pants around our ankles," Kakashi noted matter-of-factly as he took in the situation in the wilderness. The sarcasm practically oozed off his words.

How did they manage to find themselves in this harrowing predicament? The High Cleric of the Jashin faith stimulated and heightened the senses of his followers during their intimate ceremony, thus magnifying their normal capabilities to an even greater level. The foreign smells caused the mutated people to go ballistic and bay for blood, which led the joint task force to get cornered, despite their efforts to maim them. The fiendish followers kept persisting, hot on their trails, until they discovered themselves in the current situation.

Once again, Kakashi managed to land himself in more trouble than necessary. The joint task force had scoped around for the main ritual, as what that Mōkotsu guy called it. Strangely enough, the hulk of a man was nowhere to be found.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Mr. Genius," Usui retorted as he brandished his imported machete in a threatening gesture. "Now, what do we do?" He carefully glanced at the dwarf-like figures with rows of pointy and jagged teeth and bumpy, crimson skin…

The whole area was teeming with them, and they just surrounded the joint group of non-aggression allies. They must have run pretty deep in numbers; fifty, at the very least, from Tenzō's standpoint.

"Create a distraction," the ashen-haired shinobi ordered as he fished out a smoke bomb from his utility pouch, watching their ringleader depart to the nearby castle. "Gai, Horyū, you're with me! Hiroi-san, do you have adequate coverage with your team to take down these…things?"

The team leader of Kumo snorted. "I'm sure we can handle them. On your mark, Kakashi-san…"

"Jushi will stay behind to support you, if need be." When one of the jumpy, contorted humans launched itself toward their standing ground, the Copy-Ninja picked up the small sphere and quickly struck the ground with it, making it explode in opaque vapors. "Go!" he snapped as his adrenaline peaked in his system.

"Good luck, temporary comrade," Hikui managed to utter as he whipped himself into action. He unsheathed his ridged, meat-carving knives for retaliation. His heart started accelerating in trepidation.

This was not going to be his last stand.

XXXXXXXXXX

With a glancing swipe across the neck and main artery with his father's newly restored blade, Kakashi bothered not to look back as a converted human fell to the ground and convulsed, choking on his…her…its own hemoglobin. _'More blood on my hands…'_

His exposed eye grew stony as the castle got larger from his perspective. He turned at a profile to his fellow companions, still maintaining his speed. "Stay close. Who knows what's in store for us in there?"

Their attire was stained crimson, too.

"Understood, Senpai," Yūgao remarked as the trio took point in a delta formation, the only woman in the group in the rear for support and healing. Her heartbeat thundered in her bosom while they soared through the trees.

Near the entranceway to the castle, about another twenty of these demon-people amassed in order to intercept the intruders. Sickly groans and incoherent murmurs threatened the squad of three.

"Looks like we have to endure this one by covering the entrance," the moonflower of the group sadly reflected. She proudly stood, unsheathed ninjatō poised in a reverse grip. "There's no other choice." Behind her mask, her dark eyes turned frosty, hardening her heart for what needed to be done. "Go on, Senpai! We'll cover the entrance!"

Kakashi's lone eye showed a bit of concern, despite his detached persona. "Are you sure about that?" He had to lead the group, but not to a suicide mission.

The looming worry seemed to dissipate just as quickly as it formed when Gai plowed through a small cluster of the misshapen cultists with relative ease, thanks to his impressive speed.

"Worry not, my youthful rival!" the Prideful Green Beast of Konoha boomed. "We shall break spines and immobilize this resistance! And if I cannot accomplish that, then I will—!"

"Please, Gai-san," Yūgao cut above him, "not now!" She then made a graceful lunge toward an approaching demon, claws drawn and ready to slash, before she preemptively struck it down as a countermeasure.

_'I know these are humans bent to the will of this Mōkotsu guy,'_ she rationalized, all the while compartmentalizing her emotions, _'but I must, as a ninja, ease their pain and suffering. I see no other way but to end their lives with mercy.'_

The Copy Ninja took that cue to vault over the horde of crimson-skinned imps, entrusting his will to the comrades on whom he depended to uphold their duties. Landing in a crouch, Kakashi took off like a bullet into the tower, and, much to his delight, the numbers were fewer, but his sixth sense advised him to proceed with caution around the expansive stronghold.

_'Time to go dark…'_

With a visible eye peering around in a cautious manner, Kakashi silently dashed along the sides of the walls, sticking to the shadows granted by the flickering firelight of the candles that barely lit the place.

From his vantage point, he critically observed a cultist flailing about in a sort of line dance on the floor above him, unaware of his presence. Thinking that he had other fish to grill, the ashen-haired shinobi crept around the creature's line of sight after soundlessly jumping onto the wooden platform below the being in question. _'I got to conserve all my strength for those three threats…'_

A grim thought perforated his mind as he hoisted himself to the next level near the supporting pillar of the complex. Was he ready to face those bone-themed ninja? Well, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the de facto head of this ring of worshipers had ninja training. How else was he able to summon a three-tier platform with hardly any effort?

His finely-trained senses urged him to venture down the corridor on the fourth floor of the large monastery. He barely made out the figure that was quickly approaching his location, but it walked in that same gait he had previously seen—shuffling feet and hopping to the side.

_'Certainly an odd bunch…'_ he reflected, trying to find some humor in the gravity of the situation. He fished out a blending cloak from a scroll in the bottom of his utility pouch and threw it over him, waiting for the convulsing cultist to waltz past him in its odd manner of walking. He inwardly hummed. _'These…warped pawns don't seem to have heightened senses. I half-expected to get attacked by now.'_ A trickling sense of dread filled his spirit as he put away his cover and stalked around the dark hallway. _'Just what are they up to?'_

As his intuition picked up something amiss, the door that he just passed forcefully opened with what he felt was chakra. The blown-open shōji made him stop mid-step, as his hazel eye took in the sight of the young woman with the bone scepter in her hands, seated in a lotus position in the center of the room, hazy, magenta aura flickering around her like an iridescent flame.

"Um…hello…" Kakashi nonchalantly muttered with a flimsy wave of his hand.

Purplish-pink eyes burned with an extraordinary power, licking around in synchronous harmony with Chiaki's wild essence. "You were warned," the young girl intoned, voice bouncing around due to the acoustics in the room and produced a haunting effect. "You should not have come here." The glowing eyes belonging to the green-haired girl narrowed. "Why did you not yield?"

The one-eyed interloper kept aloof, but still remained guarded around the Oracle of Jashin. "Well, we were wondering what was going on in this buffer zone, and we found out that you're a threat that needs to be taken out." He then felt a darker taint behind the essence of the young girl's chakra signature, which might have been a hint toward remote manipulation. _'Is she under Mōkotsu's spell?'_ He lifted up his crooked hitai-ate, showing off a glimpse of his constantly active Sharingan. His thoughts were confirmed when he saw the dim energy mingle with hers from the nape of her neck. _'A cursed seal technique, perhaps?'_

"If you insist on pressing into the affairs of our sacred religion," the ordained prophetess warned with ironclad resolve, "then you will not leave here alive."

"So I've been told, many times before," Kakashi airily noted, a blithe undertone coating his words.

Suddenly sensing a spike in energy from the Jashin mystic, the masked shinobi anticipated the attack with a rolling dodge as a spectral ball of chakra erupted in a dazzling blast where he would have been.

_'That would have been my head!'_ For dramatic effect, Kakashi lightly touched the top of his gravity-defying hair. _'Not a single end singed…'_

His mismatched eyes took in the stance that Chiaki had taken, and found, to his relief, that she was just a civilian blessed with a gift of precognition. Her posture looked uneven, if she were a kunoichi.

The Copy Ninja put on a dash of speed, taking agile, measured steps to avoid the ruby bursts while conserving his strength. His main goal in mind wrapped around the need to incapacitate the teenager, all the while evading those dense spheres of destruction.

He managed to find his opening by strafing to the girl's side, gripping her weapon-wielding arm and twisting it back into a partial submission hold. Before she had the opportunity to fire a close-quarters flare, Kakashi took his index and middle fingers and jammed them into her spine, sending a spark of lightning chakra through her system, promptly knocking her out without leaving much of a mess.

Kakashi heaved a sigh, barely feeling winded as he released his grip on the female, letting her unceremoniously crumple to the floor. "One down…" he said to nothing but thin air, lowering his forehead protector to block the chakra drain from the Sharingan, "…and two to go."

He thought about kidnapping this young girl to have Konoha interrogate her with her extrasensory perception, but having extra baggage while making a clean getaway did not look favorable—especially with their cover already blown by the Jashinists.

His senses flared up again as his line of sight urged him to glance up, feeling an unrestrained amount of chakra coming from two floors above him, at rough estimate. "Great…" he dejectedly uttered, "…more surprises."

XXXXXXXXXX

Forcefully making his way through the fifth floor, the ashen-haired ninja had to decimate at least three nigh-rabid converts. He idly wondered about the shift in aggression again, and, with his curiosity egging him onward, he found his way to the sixth floor, where that bloated woman awaited him.

The engorged lady, who had an odd aura about her, waddled up a few steps, gunbai resting comfortably in her meaty grip. "I know what you want…" she wheezed as she stopped, "…you want the stone…"

_'The stone?'_ Kakashi mulled over in his head, recalling what Hiroi had mentioned. _'Is that what I think she's referring to? What Hiroi-san mentioned when we cross-referenced our intelligence reports?'_

"It's safe…inside my belly…" Suddenly, the yet-to-be-named Guardian of the Stone's demeanor shifted into a menacing one. "You're not going to. Get. It," she punctuated, a shrill fit of laughter erupting from her maw, much to the Copy Ninja's annoyance.

_'The life-warping stone…is inside of her?'_ That was not what he expected. "You used the stone to hurt innocent people," Kakashi coolly accused, adopting a loose fighting stance. "I will take that stone, even if means gutting you."

"Then I, On the Wretched, Guardian of the Stone," the woman intoned before her voice hissed, "will kindly destroy your body and make you a servant to our cause…"

_'Oh, dear…Why the crazies?'_ Kakashi sighed before gripping the handle of his father's refurbished blade. Right in front of his eyes, the gunbai-wielding woman quickly dashed to him, winding back to club him senseless. He released his hold of the hilt and managed to avoid the brunt of the swing, but a few nicks on his flak jacket appeared. _'So,'_ he hastily concluded, _'she's wind-natured, then…'_

He had to give this woman credit for being deceptively fast, regardless of her seemingly unhealthy stature.

He flung a few shuriken in her direction, but On had some rather thick skin, for the ninja stars simply bounced off her frame with little to no give.

_'Iron skin…or rubber?'_ he surmised, wanting to further test out his theory.

Kakashi gave the distended Stone Guardian a critical gaze as she prepared her next set of moves. On charged forward, enveloped in a violet shell of essence, gunbai positioned like a spear.

With his astounding agility, the ashen-haired assassin dashed in a strafe and clung to a wall, conserving his chakra supply. To test out On's thick skin, Kakashi charged a kunai from his pouch with a bit of his lightning-natured chakra, hiding it behind his back. He then flung it to the war-fan-wielding warrior, who sidestepped to the side.

"Damn," he cursed under his breath as he geared up another lightning-charged trowel, but kept it close to his person when he kicked off the wall and wound up a swinging arc of electricity, which then stunned the special stone's host. Her grunt proved that it did do some damage. _'So…tough skin…'_ He smirked under his mask. _'I can handle this…'_

Finally having time for some breathing room, the Copy Ninja unsheathed his tantō with delicate finesse. The dark room became washed out with a bright light from the glistening ninja tool when Kakashi of the Sharingan channeled a generous portion of chakra through the blade, extending its length to match that of the ninjatō that his ANBU juniors carried on them. Crackling electricity accompanied the erratic sparks and growled like a wild beast.

**"Raiton: Hakurai Kōken!"**

Intermingled with the special chakra given off by his father's White Light Chakra Saber, the Pale Thunder Blade of the Light glimmered, defiantly radiating its positive energy to smite villainy with one of its christened slashes.

Not liking how the battle was shifting, On the Wretched lunged forward, ready to tear into that searing brightness, but, unfortunately for her, the glowing energy cleaved the metal fan in two.

Kakashi never lost momentum, however, as he followed up with crisscrossing, diagonal slashes in the shape of an X before piercing his extended dagger through the core of the woman's chakra network, eliciting a hair-raising shriek from her.

"No!" she wailed, staggering back and feeling her life fade away. The wisps of sinister chakra poured out of her cuts as she stumbled to the ground on her side. "My…my…m-my precious s-stone…" There could have been more blood spilling from her engorged frame, but the cauterizing effects from the electricity in Kakashi's jutsu stemmed it by a substantial margin.

The hardboiled Copy Ninja yanked his short sword from the dead heap of a woman, drawing out a black-tinted sphere with his left hand. It was fairly large and dense; almost in likeness to a grapefruit.

Not bothered by the gore coating his hand as the carcass fell apart, Kakashi examined the jewel in his crouch, seeing the visible curls of dark energy wafting from it until it petered out, making it look like an ebony pearl.

His eyebrows furrowed as his visible eye shrunk from the folds of skin. _'Huh…'_ he concluded, feeling the stone become grainy. _'I guess that this stone, or whatever, needs a host body in order for it to function properly. Otherwise, once out of the vessel, it becomes inert.'_

He decided to whip out one of his sealing scrolls to banish the globe into suspended space before it started to crack. _'I'll let Hokage-sama have his cipher division poke and prod at this stone…and see if it has any value.'_ He stood up and felt a foreboding, cold aura pouring forth from the topmost level of the monastery.

Looking up with a fiery determination, Kakashi felt the urge to confront this high cleric on the tenth floor of the abandoned monastery. His fight or flight response brought on by the rush of adrenaline pressured him to forge onward.

The Copy Ninja's naked eye blinked once as he made his way up the towering castle. "…Showtime."

XXXXXXXXXX

(17 October, 0150)

Uneasiness crept along Kakashi's veins as he saw a brighter light permeate the hallway, leading to the sanctum at the end of the corridor. Mōkotsu was waiting for him, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Taking in a gulp of air, the seasoned shinobi breathed out and jogged in, posture set on a hair trigger to fight.

He was surprised when he saw the high cleric sitting lotus-style, legs tucked underneath him, as his back faced him. His ram skull gave off a chilling aura as he stared at the candlelight in the center of the room, eyes shadowed by the bony helmet atop his hardened features. With a swift grunt from his nostrils, Mōkotsu stood on his feet, showing off his hulking figure and hammered down his khakkhara, brass rings clanging in dissonance as it became lodged in place.

"You know," the ecclesiastic airily remarked as he turned to eye this pest of theirs, "I prefer the little skulls—children's skulls—for the taking. Each one has a story to tell, if you're willing to listen." Seemingly out of place, the titan of a man gently stroked one of the diminutive gems of his collection that lined his neck like he doted on a pet. "It's a short story, but a story, nevertheless. Also, children's skulls are so perfect, pretty and whole; no fault lines like that of an adult's, and they prove to be better trinkets when you polish them nicely."

Now, Kakashi felt rather disturbed. "That's very morose and macabre of you for taking children's skulls. I never would have imagined that someone of the Jashin faith would be that sick."

_'Either way, a child's skull is more fractured than an adult's, so why is he saying that?'_ He slowly lifted up his crooked forehead protector, showing off his mismatched ocular gift. Realization lit the Copy Ninja's face as he took note of the strange chakra signatures coming from all the marrow. _'I get it, now. He must have fused together those bones with calcium deposits found in the earth. That means he has a strong affinity for earth-based techniques…'_

"I prefer the babies because they make pretty baubles, like the skull of your precious jinchūriki. What a story it must tell!" he shouted with unhidden delight. "Imagine, Kakashi-san, a skull that will never fracture and will always heal! As it grows, it maintains its smoothness, its purity! Such a life would surely give Jashin-sama merriment and glee."

_'So, he knows my name, too…'_ The ashen-haired ninja assumed a defense mode as he visibly flinched at the allusion to Konoha's demon vessel. "And what if I won't let you have Naruto's life?"

"Ah…you tell me his name?" Mōkotsu rhetorically asked, feigning disappointment. "How uncouth. I prefer the bones to tell me everything: names, their desires…

"Everything can be heard from within the bones. I will wear his bones as regalia and drink the blood of Jashin-sama's enemies from his immaculate skull! Each of his bones will tell me a story, and I shall never be alone!" The dancing flames from the candles illuminated his body as to make him look even more threatening.

Outwardly disgusted, Kakashi of the Sharingan wondered why he kept meeting all kinds of weirdoes while out in the field. "You're a vile, twisted man, you know that?" His inner rage ignited from deep within the pit of his soul and fired up a Chidori without hand seals. "How about I tell you a story, then?" he frigidly inquired, a hard tone lining his voice over the chattering sounds given off by his technique. "It begins with my Sharingan," he grated out, his eyes shrinking to mere slits, displaying an arctic glare, "and ends with your life."

"Oh? At least I kill for a purpose aside from appeasing Jashin-sama," the prophet of the Evil Deity condescendingly countered. "One of my Brothers just kills out of contentment and then leaves behind the rotting flesh. I, on the other hand, take the stories of the bones with me…" As if a dam had ruptured, a tidal wave of monstrous, noxious energy leaked off the man's figure, "…and I believe I'll start with you for barging in and parading around with your ill swagger, you blaspheming shinobi…"

Kakashi kept rooted to the spot, a trickle of sweat running down the side of his face, his original technique fizzling out to mere sparks. _'His chakra is as large as Jiraiya-sama's…What the hell is this?'_

Holding his hands as if praying, Mōkotsu recited a chilling hymn in an unintelligible language as spectral marrow appeared from out of nowhere by the dozens, corrugated edges directed toward the Copy Ninja.

**"Reikotsu Kōgeki!"**

The conjured, spectral bones of pale-gray energy hovered around him as he willed the command to penetrate the intruder with the salvo brought upon by his special secret art—the Spiritual Bones Bombardment.

Not one for being turned into Swiss cheese, Kakashi flipped out of the way, but his vest, once again, got nicked by a stray bone shard that grazed past him. In a retaliatory fashion, he quickly unleashed a white-colored slash from his restored heirloom. Deftly crouching, the elite Konoha ninja brushed up his hitai-ate, since it started to sag, hoping to keep one step ahead with his implanted dōjutsu.

Mōkotsu held out a rigid palm and held the chakra wave as it pushed him back several centimeters. With a grunt, he got out of the trajectory and let it sail harmlessly past his torso and slice a groove into the wall behind him, snuffing out a couple of candles from the elaborate candelabra.

The Jashin cleric shook his head in growing ire, despite the cold grin plastered on the visible part of his face. "Such sacrilege. You kill for profit, instead of for the glory of Jashin-sama!" A hollow, mirthless chuckle poured out of his mouth as he coated his vocal cords with his essence to produce another disturbing melody.

Feeling the effects in full force, Kakashi struggled in vain as his body moved closer to the man. "Uhn…" He bit off more than he could chew with this high priest of the Jashin religion.

_'Try all you want, heathen,'_ Mōkotsu reflected in triumph. _'My Magen: Yogen no Hika cannot be reversed this close up…'_

"And now," he declared as he readied another bone barrage, "time for me to see what your bones have to say when you're dead."

The ordained bone-lover summoned a few more of those accursed pieces to puncture the Copy Ninja, only to pierce a few of the shingles dislodged from the roof before the metallic slabs clattered with the polished wooden floorboards.

Mōkotsu's mouth etched into a thin line. "So, he managed to get away from my genjutsu." Keeping the fury from creeping into his manner of speech, he sat down, again in lotus-style, and began to mumble in an alien chant, arms resting over his thighs. The shakujō behind him started to reverberate with a golden glow, its six rings jangling about in rhythmic harmony, as opposed to the last time. Fanning out his large reserves, the exalted priest felt the steady flow of Chiaki's energy, but could not register anything from the Keeper of the Jashin no Shingyoku—the very stone which provided them the power to manipulate humans and turn them into foul creatures, which led him to believe the worst-case scenario…

The man he battled—and escaped—had killed On and had it on his person.

_'By the very bones that lead me to Jashin-sama's embrace, you will not elude me, Hatake Kakashi…'_

If he could not reclaim that jewel, then his plans would have to be further refined and put on hold, if he wanted to achieve his objective. Then again, he absorbed enough power from the tainted gemstone for his loss to not even matter, but, now, to the Jashin cleric, it was a matter of pride to make an example out of those who have crossed him.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hm…almost didn't make it that time…"

Copy Ninja Kakashi, the slippery jōnin of many copied techniques, dusted off his attire after a hastily put-together Kawarimi no Jutsu on the peak of the monastery before scaling his way down, on the outside. Feeling somewhat outmatched and wanting to live to see another day and report this to his commanding officer, he devised a fallback strategy to extract himself. He never thought that replacing himself with a few loose shingles could have done the trick, but it did.

Keeping his brisk pace down the castle, he radioed in to the entire team. "All forces retreat at once. I repeat, fall back to the rendezvous point as soon as you can!"

White noise blared through before he got a few faint voices in the affirmative, much to his inward relief. As he somersaulted off the third floor, the vaunted genius shinobi flew through five hand seals before a conflagration ignited the bottom of the cultists' stronghold. _'That should hold them off for a while…'_

Dashing into the forest, all the while ignoring the horrid iron smell in the air due to the amount of blood splattered across the ground and tree bark, Kakashi glanced around, throwing down his forehead protector over his ocular present to conserve his depleted reserves. A few familiar, but fainter, signatures flooded his mind's eye as Yūgao and Gai fell in line behind him in his hasty getaway. Both looked in fighting form, still, but still splotched with blood—hopefully, not their own.

"Wow, Senpai," the moonflower of the squad noted with a flat deadpan, "you look like hell."

"My vest is just messed up from the enemies' jutsu," he clarified. "Just minor scratches and all that."

"We have put an end to some youthful flames that wallowed in darkened misery, my eternal rival," Gai briefly elaborated, feeling that he did the right thing, deep down. "I hope they will find peace in the next world."

"It's all right, Gai," Kakashi amended, trying his best to allay his friend's concerns pertaining to his conscience. "You did what you had to do." Keeping his eye sharp for anything else, he felt four more energy readings in a patch of wood a few meters out. _'Weren't there five? Where's the short one?'_

True to his mounting suspicion, the Copy Ninja's exposed eye saw all but the shortest of the squad. Every warrior kept tightly in a circle; heavily panting with weapons held at their sides, save for their fellow Konoha shinobi, Tenzō, who stoically surveyed their surroundings for anything to jump out at them. "Status report, Hiroi-san!"

The hefty, dark-skinned ninja wheezed, trying to keep his breaths under control. "Some…someone managed to get…to Hikui. He's gone…"

"Damn," Kakashi muttered in a low curse. "Who eliminated him?"

"…Some street punk with strange-colored eyes and a foul mouth," Usui bluntly remarked, sucking his teeth for good measure. "The bastard engaged us while our backs were turned. Sneaky little—"

"We will honor him at a later time, Usui," Kinniku cut in with his baritone voice, feeling his second wind. "How is your team faring, Kakashi-san?"

"…We'll manage," he curtly responded, "and I'm sorry for your loss."

Hiroi's sentence was cut off as something zipped down from the sky toward their location. "Everyone, move!"

Kakashi held back a sigh as he saw those all-too-familiar bone shards that Mōkotsu summoned drilled into the dirt. On the other hand, something just did not feel…right with the scene. _'Why are there sparks coming from that?'_ Then, it immediately clicked in his head. _'Oh, shit…'_

"Run, now!" he barked, feeling the ionic shift in the air as his hair stood even higher on end.

In the nick of time, all seven ninja flipped, strafed, or dashed away as a giant thunderbolt crash-landed, rattling their ears with a deafening clangor of thunder.

Attempting to clear the sense of vertigo brought on by the roaring thunderclap, the Copy Ninja hobbled around a downed tree trunk.

_'A lightning rod technique with Raiton-infused bones raining down on us?'_ he pondered before lifting his forehead protector…again. Mōkotsu was nowhere in sight. _'What on earth can this guy not do?'_

"My eternal rival, are you unharmed?" he heard his cohort bellow over the ringing in his eardrums.

"Yeah! I'm swell!" Kakashi retorted in a sardonic fashion.

"Close call," Yūgao grumbled as she used her palm to bang against her left ear to stem the buzzing in her own sense of hearing from her vantage point on a low-hanging tree branch. "So, the guy you pissed off…can use natural lightning for a weapon? That's kind of asking for it, Senpai."

"So," the burly Kumo team leader interrupted, who stood to Kakashi's right, behind another tree, "was that stone inside the monastery?"

"Well, it was inside something…or rather, some_one_."

Hiroi's eyes slightly bulged from their sockets. "You don't mean…"

"Yes," Kakashi confirmed, "some black jewel was encased inside the body of the bloated woman, but," he smoothly slid into a white lie, "the stone cracked and crumbled before I had a chance to collect it."

"Not even any shards to analyze?"

"No," he uttered, sighing all the way. If he tried to extract the gemstone now, when it started to splinter before he sealed it away, he conjectured that there would not be enough evidence to investigate the pearl in greater length. "Now, let's get moving. We're already sitting ducks here, as it stands. Who knows when and where that cleric will strike?"

An ominous foreboding lingered in the air as billowy clouds rolled in to envelop the nighttime sky, streaks of lightning zipping across the condensed gas. Vacant, hollow eyes from the long-haired man, now formed from the very water vapors provided by his machinations, vigilantly peered around the ram's skull in the search for the absconders of what rightfully belonged to him. **"You will rue the day, Hatake Kakashi, for slighting me and the path of bones…"**

The squad of seven turned their gazes to the skies, unbidden dismay, like a coat of paint, lining the pits of their souls.

"He surely goes on and on about bones," the Copy Ninja impassively noted.

"Fuck that!" Usui barked before sheathing his imported machete-type sword. His thin, gangly frame coiled like a spring before bolting. "Time for us to get our asses out of here!"

"I agree," 'Hōryu' noted, mauve hair flowing in the harsh winds. "Point formation, Senpai?" She turned to his direction, only to not see him there. She heaved a long sigh. "I hate it when he does that."

_'Time for a tactical retreat,'_ Hiroi grimly considered, swiftly taking a backward dash into a full sprint, despite his stocky stature. "All right, men, time to book it!"

**"You all kill for money, and not for the thrill!"** Mōkotsu screamed to the heavens when the squad scattered like rats, his voice sounding disembodied as his avatar floated in the clouds. **"Jashin-sama demands his due paid in blood, but I want your _bones_!"**

His wispy hands clapped together in a praying position from the clouds as his eye-holes started to crackle with electricity.

**"Raikotsu Hahen!"**

The mission had turned sour the moment a barrage of lightning-charged pieces of marrow started to rain from the sky and coat the ground with their bizarre properties.

Due to the sensitivity of his chakra element, Hatake Kakashi sensed a stronger pole shift in the atmosphere. _'We're not going to make it in time for cover…'_ Thinking quickly on his feet, the Copy Ninja from Konoha strung together the Ox, Hare, and Monkey hand seals. "Everyone, huddle down around me, now!" Pumping as much chakra as he could, the chirping sound muted into a dull roar of electricity that flared to life in his hands. "Keep your heads down, because I don't know if this will work!"

Chaotic arcs of lightning danced around him as he held up the overloaded fist high above him, severing the superheated lightning strike in two when it crashed down in an eye-blinding flash of power. Kakashi, with his mismatched eyes closed, grunted through the pain in his electrically-charged digits when the attack ceased a fraction of a second later, still feeling like he was on the verge of going deaf.

The mismatched eyes of the Copy Ninja drooped as he panted, trying his hardest to stay conscious. Ignoring his raised, charred hand, he looked around to see the stunned and awe-filled looks that spread around his miniature battalion like a contagious plague.

Ever since that day, legends flew around like a frantic flock of flustered birds about Hatake Kakashi cutting raw lightning in twain.

Once the initial shock and adrenaline wore off, the seasoned shinobi blacked out.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Present Time, Hokage's Office)

"So, I was escorted to another wooden lodge made by Tenzō, once we managed to elude that crazy Jashin cleric, where I recuperated for a day or so before heading off," the younger ninja concluded, finishing out his report. He looked like he was about to fall asleep in his chair.

Hiruzen rubbed at the coarse hairs on his chin, recalling the detail pertaining to the changing of the guard in Kumogakure's forces. "So, Kumo's ninja forces became too unruly for the Sandaime to control, and they took him out of the equation and inaugurated one of the toughest men in their roster to act as a deterrent from plotting hidden agendas to evoke fury from the other Elemental Countries. Am I properly reading between the lines on that part, right, Kakashi?"

"That is correct, sir." His exposed eye looked up at the ceiling. "We have little doubt to not believe otherwise."

"…Not to mention, you poked and prodded around in the buffer zone, and antagonized a possible threat in the process, foregoing protocol." The Sandaime did his best to hold back his sigh. _'Real smooth, Kakashi…'_

"They…managed to pick up on us first, Hokage-sama. We merely defended ourselves by putting some of the warped subjects out of their misery." His gaze shifted to the window over the Hokage's shoulder. Oh, how he yearned to head back outdoors and read some of his…preferred literature. "There was no way of avoiding collateral damage." Then, something came to him. "Oh, right." Fishing into one of the pockets in his tattered tactical vest, he procured the scroll that contained his spoils. "There's that strange stone I picked up from On, the bloated woman who kept the stone in her body."

"And why did you not give me a fair warning about what you were going to plan?" he admonished. "You could have told me sooner…" Soon, he settled into dull grumbles.

"Well, I did tell you, sir," the Copy Ninja reasoned. "Look underneath the underneath…or look right and left at the same time…" He trailed off, thinking quizzically. "Or was that one of my excuses? I never remember…"

While Kakashi talked to himself about superfluous matters, Hiruzen took note that one of his strongest ninja looked a bit healthier after sitting down for his debriefing, but he still had some concerns. "I know you just got back, Kakashi," he began as he grabbed the parchment, "but I want you to head to the Konoha Hospital to examine that rather…nasty burn on your right hand." His eyes critically stared at the blistered fist, which appeared irritated and raw.

"Oh, it's just a flesh wound, sir!" Kakashi chirped.

"You know gangrene could possibly settle in there if it's really infected, right?" The Copy Ninja should take better care of his body, for gods' sake!

He was rewarded with no response. With arms crossed over his chest, and slumped down into the chair, the unflappable scarecrow had a visit to the sandman's embrace. Like the sound of a hacksaw against wood, the young man snored in his peaceful slumber.

The Third Fire Shadow's shoulders sagged a bit before unleashing another long sigh. "I was about to ask him about his team, but I suppose that they will catch up and fill me in on their accounts. Ox," he commanded with a hand gesture, making the loyal, muscular ninja appear from out of nowhere, "will you be as kind as to carry Kakashi-kun to Konoha General? I will follow you."

The strongman of the ANBU fluttering around in his office crisply saluted before comically slinging his former commanding officer's body into a fireman's carry. "Aye, sir!"

XXXXXXXXXX

(21 October, Konoha General Hospital, 1500 hours)

The son of the White Fang willed his natural eye to open up, taking in the uncomfortable sensation as he rested on his back. Glancing around, he avoided the harsh, fluorescent lighting provided by the overhead ceiling.

"Ah, you're awake," the gruff voice of the Sandaime filtered into his conscious hearing. "You just so happened to fall asleep when I wanted to inquire about your teammates, but they stopped by on our way here. They were kind of winded from the pace you set as you moved ahead to deliver your report."

Kakashi idly wondered how his superior officer could get away with smoking in the hospital's medical bay. _'So, I was just exhausted; pushed myself over the limit…'_

"Before I sent you on the mission, you mentioned something about the Uchiha children, have you not?" Hiruzen prompted, gearing the conversation to where he wanted to veer it.

Shaking out the cobwebs from his mind, the ashen-haired assassin pushed himself into a seated position while he laid on the cot. "Yes, I did," he answered. "Have you come to a decision with regard to them, Hokage-sama?"

The God of Shinobi puffed a few times on his pipe, the luscious herbs filling his lungs to invoke a sense of tranquility and peace from within. "I have." Hiruzen kept his countenance imperturbable, a simple face that displayed not even a sliver of emotion. He still felt, deep down, that he wished there could have been more time to hash out and settle negotiations with the disenfranchised Uchiha clan members, but alas, time waited for no mortal man. "The medics on hand told me that you are ordered for release at around seventeen-hundred. In said time, meet me down at the nursery."

A shard of happiness dug its way into Kakashi's heart, already accepting his role as a guardian. "…Thank you, Hokage-sama."

The Professor allowed a small smile to break through his stony façade. "Do know that you will only adopt one as a ward of your clan, if you command it with your honor code."

"I promise," the younger ninja vowed, holding up his right hand as if casting a half-Tiger hand seal under his chin, "on the blood of my clan, I, Hatake Kakashi, do hereby solemnly swear to accept and uphold my responsibilities as a guardian and role model to the child you allow me to take under my wing."

The wizened Hokage felt satisfied with Kakashi's oath, bound by a witness. "Very well. I will see you in a couple of hours. Until then, rest well, and your mission is complete."

_'However,'_ he noted as an afterthought on his way out, _'things will grow tougher from here on out for you, Kakashi-kun.'_

XXXXXXXXXX

At around the appointed time of his release, the ashen-haired scarecrow ambled at his leisurely gait, down the flight of stairs and around the corner of the receptionist's desk on the first floor and through the wide corridors leading to the nursery, as per his superior's orders.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the elder Fire Shadow, turned his head at a profile as he stood in front of the two-way glass that allowed passersby to look into the infant-storing incubators and beds, his calabash pipe nowhere in plain view. Due to a drop in the population in Konoha, there were not that many newborns in the expansive room apart from a few occupied cots. He cut his eyes when he heard the light footsteps of one of his loyal subordinates. "You made it, Kakashi, and you're on time, for once," he outwardly mused, an unmasked mirth filtering through his words.

"…Just wanted to mix things up a little," the Copy Ninja defended, shrugging for emphasis.

"I want to show you someone." He gestured the younger ninja to come closer, eyes now turned into the day nursery. "You see the eight-month-old in the center?" Hiruzen pointed straight ahead, in the sea of beds.

"The one with the grayish-black hair?" Kakashi hazarded.

"That's the very one, yes." Hands clasped behind his robes, the wrinkled old man turned to his right and walked. "Follow me." The two silently walked in a loose line as the Sandaime Hokage pushed into the double doors and hung a sharp left. The sounds of their footfalls clapped and echoed in the narrow passageway along the olive-colored linoleum tiles, which connected to the baby-holding room with another left turn.

Kakashi grew anxious and a bit dreadful as the distance started to close between his ward and him. Was he ready to accept the hard task of rearing a child and protect it with his life? For the longest of time, after Rin secluded herself far from society, the jaded veteran grew to accept loneliness. Then again, the young man kept getting plagued by the many failures that chiseled his worldview. He lost a teammate due to his headstrong stubbornness to complete the mission, lost his mentor from forces beyond his control, and lost his other teammate by doing a disservice to the promise he vowed to keep as Obito had expired.

He failed to protect Rin, and now, her reclusive lifestyle was indirectly caused by his own hands, even though he never partook in that botched mission. He saw the damage done to her, and it slowly tore him up inside as he made it his side objective to track down and question whoever hurt his brunette teammate. Sadly, nothing substantial came up in the time being, so he had to put his minor goal to the wayside as he got swamped by the mission workload as Konoha slowly recovered in the aftermath of their own problems.

His errant musings melted away as he looked down at the girl he was chosen to adopt. The world around him lost focus on the outside and centered on the peacefully sleeping infant. He absentmindedly rubbed the baby's scalp, which had a surprisingly full head of hair.

"What's her name, Hokage-sama?" he wistfully asked.

"That, my dear boy, is Harumi-chan."

"…Can I pick her up?"

"You may."

With cautious fumbling, Kakashi held the base of the child's head and neck and cradled her in the crooks of his arms. _'She's so light…and fragile…'_ He played a bit with her tiny feet, causing little Harumi to squirm in his hold. For once in quite a long time, a soft smile graced the hardened ninja's face, even though it remained covered by his half-mask.

Hiruzen, meanwhile, felt sort of guilty. He was about to spoil the intimate scene by saddling his elite ninja with quite the time-stopping ball drop. Steadying his nerves with a shaky breath, he delivered the news. "Uh…Kakashi…You may need to hear me out on this one, because what I'm about to say will probably affect your life in more ways than one. That's your kid."

The Copy Ninja bounced a bit on his heels as he felt drawn into Harumi's inquisitive, dark-tinted eyes when she fluttered them open before falling asleep again. He was in his own little world, not paying much attention to his superior officer, until the Sandaime cleared his throat, bringing him back to the whitewashed walls of the nursery. "Hm? My what? I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. I kind of zoned out there for a minute." His visible eye showed his confusion, totally missing what was said seconds before.

_'I thought as much,'_ Hiruzen sourly thought. "Now that I have your undivided attention," he began to reiterate, sans emotion, "Harumi-chan is your biological daughter, actually."

"Eh?" Kakashi stood rooted to the spot, flummoxed and astonished, were it possible at the same time, and tried his best not to shout. "But, how…How can that be?"

The older man's visage seemed to have quickly aged when he sighed for the countless time that day. "Well, do you remember that mission from a year ago? You were low on chakra…again…and Setsuna and you had eaten some of the…uncultivated fungi…within the area, at your own risk."

The former ANBU captain gently put down his dependent—and in a bizarre turn of events, his daughter—back on her resting spot and scratched his head, racking his muddled brain to jog his memory. "Who? I did what, now?" he asked more to himself than to the Sandaime in front of him.

The wizened Fire Shadow tried to suppress an oncoming headache, for he easily senses Kakashi's dread, indecision and denial. "You and Uchiha Setsuna were on a mission almost a year ago that involved the assassination of a corrupted local official. Do you recall even that much?"

The hardboiled assassin owlishly blinked. "Uh, yeah…vaguely." He had undergone too many missions for it to even register in his mind at the time.

"Um…" The Professor began to perspire behind his collar as a blush crept on his face. _'Even though I have grandchildren now, I still get embarrassed when a topic like this comes up and rears its ugly head…'_

An ANBU agent cloaked and hidden about the room felt the need to speak up, already annoyed at his commanding officer's skittish behavior regarding procreation. "Permission to speak, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi felt a bit relieved, but somewhat agitated for his supposedly silent watcher broke formation and tossed aside the usual modus operandi for the ANBU. "Permission granted, but do note that your current action warrants a demerit."

The serpent-masked operative frowned behind the porcelain nō-style mask. "What Hokage-sama is trying to say, and seemingly cannot," the offhanded comment evoked a stern glower from Hiruzen before he pressed on, now a bit more cautious in his blunt manner of speaking, "is that you and Setsuna got drugged and had one wild night…together…a romp in the dirt, as it were." Fading back into the wall, he finished out in a lighter tone, "That is all! Enjoy your day!"

As a knee-jerk response, the Sarutobi clan head huffed an exhausted sigh. _'That one's got a smart mouth, and I'll probably question his brass regarding that…'_ His low murmurs came off as a garbled groan to those who listened to the Sandaime up close.

Now recollecting and piecing things together from that hazy night, Kakashi held up one hand to his face and lethargically dragged it down the length of his mask. "Wait a second…I ate that unrefined Madō Take…didn't I?" Once his memory locked into place, he remembered those strange, glowing red tubers that boosted energy reserves, but at the cost of greater risks. The effects merely hinged on how strong a ninja's constitution was. In the seasoned shinobi's case, it sent him and his transient partner into a loopy, hallucinogenic stupor. Due to their abundance, the Devil's Way Mushrooms found their way into their limited technology as the base import for the manufacture and processing of food pills, military rations pills, coagulants, and toxins, among other uses.

The Sandaime nodded in the affirmative, a resigned look brushing his wrinkled countenance. "You should have known the repercussions of eating the uncultivated fungus. It could have poisoned you, if you didn't have fairly good health and are less prone to get sick. The risks are greater than the benefits provided by what little chakra it restores when consuming it."

Kakashi's shoulders slumped, feeling deflated. His tired expression compounded with feeling drained and defeated. He sired a child, and he never even knew about it! "…I knew something felt weird…and why Setsuna became oddly evasive with me soon after that…"

Frantic footfalls were heard from down the hall, getting louder as the sounds thundered closer. "What in the world is going on?" Hiruzen asked a winded shinobi messenger as he approached, showing himself and bowing in front of the Hokage. "And please, do be quiet," he added as a warning. "We have children resting here."

The lanky envoy ninja regained control of his breathing and kept his gaze on the ground. "Sir," the brunet began, his eyes closing in sheer sadness, "we got trouble."

"How so?" he inquired, a nagging feeling that things were going to snowball from here.

"The Root Division has escaped."

"…" Sarutobi Hiruzen stood at a loss as his eyes darted around the room, quickly firing off any countermeasures. "I know there's more to this. So, please, come clean."

"Hokage-sama, the guardians you had for Uchiha Satoshi have now disappeared, and so has the target in question."

Ice dropped deep into the Hokage's gut. "Where's the barrier team? Shouldn't they be monitoring internal affairs, too?" For what purpose did he sanction a part of the treasury to pay them, if they did not uphold their duties that entailed their crucial positions?

"Those are the better elements of the worst bit of news, sir," the chūnin intoned, hoping that the messenger did not get killed. "The village mortuary was ransacked from right under our noses. Tombs were disturbed and disinterred, and we have several key bodies now missing."

Gnarled digits tightly clenched into fists as his facial expression hardened. The weathered wrinkles on his skin creased while his mouth, then a thin line, curled down into a dour frown.

Security had gotten lax from within Konohagakure's borders, granted, but there was only one person who could pull off a stunt like that and avoid the vigilant eye of the barrier team. His hunger for the Sharingan was well-documented, as well as his ambition to learn the many jutsu that the world had under its bright, blazing sun.

_'Orochimaru…' _the aged veteran suspected, _'you son of a bitch…'_

So, he wanted to scramble around while he was buried waist-deep in the village's internal affairs? "You," he pointed to the bowing chūnin, "send word to ANBU and have them go after Orochimaru before he has the Sharingan. We must not allow him to get his hands on our tools."

"Y-Yes, sir!" The nondescript shinobi sped away in a burst of smoke that covered his escape.

Danzō would have to wait. _'I guess I have no other option but to put him down as a lesser priority, then…'_ He sighed out his frustrations, trying his best not to pour out his energy to rattle or make the children in the nursery cry. "I…have to be alone, Kakashi," he muttered before trudging out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A/N (Afterword)**: Well, I guess I don't have an excuse for as to how come I haven't updated this one in quite a while (since August of last year, no less), other than the fact that this is a side project that will get worked on much later. Like I mentioned, I tested out the pilot chapter, and got a staggeringly high review count, and I can't thank you all enough for waiting out on seeing this fic finally take off. Trust me; you had no idea how astounded I was. Anyhow, I know that this isn't a main project (reiterating), yet, but I will try to keep consistent on updates from here on out, so things can start making sense.

With that in mind, I saw the review distribution…and the first part of this chapter…

Needless to mention, I can at least claim that I average at about thirty a chapter…lol!

Again, if you have any burning questions for what is in store, or, if you are confused, then feel free to leave them in a review and relay to me what you like or didn't like. I'll be sure to respond to you as soon as I can, if time permits. By the way, there's no trivia for this latter half of the installment. The same goes for Easter eggs…well, unless you take into account Mōkotsu's manner of speech, which was inspired by the character Jayred Ice-veins, from the Shivering Isles expansion of the video game, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

I suppose I should add in that I don't own any part of the Tenchu series, for that video game franchise falls under the copyrighted protection laws of From Software and Acquire, since I plucked the stone-bearing On from her universe and inserted her into mine. You can also see a touch of Ninja Gaiden filter through, with the introduction of the Devil's Way Mushrooms and their key function in how other things work due to their abundance in this universe.

A shout-out to those who helped sculpt the chapter: **EliadS, Arashi the Solar Phoenix, pudgypudge, Paladeus**

Naruto will soon make his reappearance in this story, in the next chapter (not in the upcoming interlude, mind you). I haven't forgotten about our little blond guy. I'm going to state again that I'm just setting up my plot a bit before the actual 'canon' meets (read: collides with) my story. Things have to get fleshed out in order for the storyline to fall in line and in place. And no, this story will not, as one reviewer claimed, 'die in its tracks.' Again, I ask that you be patient with the many revolving parts that propel this continuum, since my focus is trying to push for TFD's completion for Part I.

While you are near the infamous button, I ask that you leave me a review, if you so choose, and enjoy your holidays, if I don't get up another chapter by then.

**_By the way, before I close, I'm going to go ahead and allow anonymous reviews again, but the initial caveat still stands: if it's denigrating and flat-out mean, then it will get deleted on the spot. Be courteous, you lazy folks behind unsigned reviews. Until next time (for real, this time), peace!_**

_Next Time: Interlude One: The Natural Order of Things…where the gods come into play…or into hard work…_

**Kanji/Rōmaji/Jutsu Guide**

軍配**Gunbai/gunpai**: large, solid, open fan that could be solid iron or metal with a wooden core, which was carried by high-ranking officers; these special, non-folding fans were also used to ward off arrows, act as a sunshade, or a signal to the troops

錫杖**Shakujō**: "bishop's staff" or "khakkhara"; a Buddhist ringed staff used primarily in prayer or as a weapon. The jingling of the staff's rings is used to warn small sentient beings (i.e. insects) to move from the carrier's path and avoid being accidentally trodden on. In ancient times, it was used also to scare away dangerous animals. Ringing also is used to alert the faithful that there is a monk within earshot in need of alms. The staff's ring count can range from four, representing the Four Noble Truths (for novices), six to represent the Six Perfections (for bodhisattvas – enlightened beings), or twelve rings for the twelvefold chain of cause and effect

猛骨 **Mōkotsu**: literally, "raving bone"; high cleric of the Jashin faith

尾獣 **Bijū**: "tailed beasts"

雷遁・白雷光剣 **Raiton: Hakurai Kōken (Lightning Release: Pale Thunder Blade of the Light)**: A-rank offensive close-range ninjutsu; this technique allows the user to manipulate his/her own lightning-element chakra to extend the range of bladed weapons; in Hatake Kakashi's case, he extends the range of the **White Light Chakra Saber** to match the length of a standard-issue ninjatō that is given to members of the ANBU division (created)

千鳥 **Chidori (One Thousand Birds)**: A-rank offensive short-range ninjutsu; a large amount of chakra is concentrated into the user's arm; the nature and shape of the chakra takes on the form of electricity; combined with the high speed at which the user travels and the ball of electric chakra in the user's hand, it creates the distinct sound of many birds chirping; in short, it is a "kid-brother" version of **Raikiri (Lightning Cutter)** (Narutopedia)

霊骨攻撃 **Reikotsu Kōgeki (Spiritual Bone Bombardment)**: unknown rank offensive short- to mid-range hijutsu; upon casting a multitude of ethereal bone fragments into the air with the user's chakra, he or she unleashes a zippy volley of sharp, pointy marrow at the target (created)

瞳術 **Dōjutsu**: eye technique; a heightened ocular gift granted to those of key blood lineages or obtained through conquest or given by the blessed wielder

魔幻・予言の悲歌 **Magen: Yogen no Hika (Demonic Illusion: Elegy of the Prophets)**: unknown rank supplementary illusory technique; manipulating the sound emitted from his or her mouth, the user conjures a haunting hymn of melancholy sorrow in honor of those fallen to a particular cause, or, in the case of religion, exalts upon high his or her patron deity or pays homage to the prophets who brought about said religion; the illusion cast comes from the hypnotic suggestions of the chant, supplying special orders to do his or her bidding (created)

邪神の心玉 **Jashin no Shingyoku**: literally, Soul Jewel of the Evil Deity (its purpose will come into play later)  
変わり身の術 **Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Technique**, also known alternatively as **Body Replacement Technique)**: E-rank supplementary ninjutsu; switches body with another nearby object (Narutopedia)

雷骨破片 **Raikotsu Hahen (Thunder Bone Fragments)**: unknown rank offensive multiple-range ninjutsu; upon casting several bones made of conducive energy into the air, the natural lightning comes under the will of the practitioner of this art, directing it as he sees fit, but it only allows a short burst of the heated plasma in one setting; hence, the fragmenting part that this jutsu implies (created)

魔道茸 **Madō Take**: Devil's Way Mushroom


	5. Interlude: The Natural Order of Things

_**Interlude One**__: The Natural Order of Things_

(Sky Temple, Time and Location Unknown)

Perched atop a high-hanging cloud in his corner of the realm, Fūjin sat in a meditative position inside his inner sanctum that was his Sky Temple, alone in his thoughts on the recent developments. With the bright sun pouring into his residence, he did not require the use of candles, further favoring the natural ambience.

The white-haired God of Wind, in contrast to the element he embodied, glanced out the latticed windows, ever the imperturbable support for their council.

Then again, he also bore note to his vengeful side. If pushed into anger, he would unleash the very chilling zephyrs on a mere whim, but those times proved few and far between. He seldom had his hackles raised. By normal standards, he kept a calm air about him when monitoring the events that took place on Earthrealm…

A wispy sigh escaped his chiseled features once his ponderings veered to his dear brother, Raiden, the true Hiraishin—the true Flying Thunder God—and his jaded outlook on humanity at-large. As a sworn protector to the world, his twin brother was more concerned about Earthrealm than the denizens residing there. The God of Thunder lost faith and strayed from the Path not too long after an incident regarding the malevolent forces unexpectedly unleashed by an unforeseen outlier.

In the Before Time, a hero was deceived by the forces of evil, and threatened the very existence of the realms, but it only got worse from there. A powerful Dragon King from Outworld, one of the then-largest areas that made up their universe, found his way to the top of the infighting during the battle of Armageddon and soundly defeated the firespawn that granted the winner unfathomable power to do as he so chose. He then fused himself with the shards of the six worlds, known to humanity as the Kamidōgu, or Tools of the Gods, forcing the realms to collide together in an explosive blast, destroying himself in the process. It took a few millennia for the One Being to flake away, recreating the six dominions once more, and to where they, the elemental gods of the Ethereal Plane's Second Sphere, remained.

Ever since then, Raiden had become disillusioned when he had reawakened centuries after the Initial Collision and had since grown indifferent to humanly affairs. Fūjin tried his very best to convince his cynical brother to believe again in humanity when the forces of divine and profane waged war again.

"…_I will give a patron of my choosing one chance, and one chance only, as Champion," the hat-wearing deity tiredly relented with reluctance. "If he fails, which I believe that he will, then I leave it to you."_

Unfortunately, Raiden's sponsor, the one who dedicated the name of his prized technique to him, had his bright flame blown out far too early, all due to Shinnok's vile influence through a man in the orange-swirled mask. Then again, the wayward Fallen God contributed a bevy of other crimes after his ousting by his dear brother when he found out.

'_He claimed to dig deeper into how the world works,'_ the collected god bitterly reflected, _'whereas he managed to create so much chaos and pandemonium in light of his so-called experiments…'_

He wished to personally deal with the newly-anointed Underworld God, but he felt powerless to stop the choppy flow of Nature as it spiraled out of everyone's control. The rules of the late Elder Gods prohibited gods of any kind messing around with humans too closely, in addition to interfering in the work of other supernatural beings. The fine print, however, lay in the fact that a god could act with his own motives to stop the progress of another spirit's plans via indirect methods, if it were left up to chance—a loophole Shinnok gladly exploited. It was a shame that he and his fellow deities could do nothing more but to act as silent observers and monitor the world like specimens under a microscope. However, due to being a senior deity, Fūjin took it upon himself to select his own warrior, and, like Raiden from the past, he placed his hope and faith to the deceased Elder Gods that preceded him that he saw through it until the bitter end. The God of Wind never faltered in his belief in the essence of the human soul and the amount of potential it could bring into the world, despite the taints of sin and trickery clouding its vision.

The white-haired entity loosely closed his eyes and urged that his trance push him deeper, into the low-lying clouds of Konohagakure. His mind's eye peered around in the evening backdrop, taking in the serene wonder brought upon by the setting sun on their world. Merchants packed up shop for the night while a scant few decided to go carousing with companions for a night on the town. His spiritual eyesight crept along the clouds until a small commotion took him by surprise, urging him to narrow the scope of his worldly sight.

"_I want ramen!" a blond kid shouted at the top of his lungs, eyes burning with determination to get what he desired. The shout made his spiritual vision zoom in, in curious interest, into the domicile of three kids and a budding toddler. He wore a black T-shirt with an orange flame flickering up from the abdomen region in a tribal-like pattern. He also wore a set of dark-colored slacks, and he was barefoot._

"_No, Naruto!" a russet brunette clipped back, not backing down, at all, wearing a blood-red, long-sleeved shirt with a brown-tinted skirt that stopped at her knees, also without protective footwear. "We had ramen last night! I want yakitori!"_

"_You always want yakitori, Hotaru!" he bellowed before planting his small hands on the three-meter-long, birch dinner table in their modest abode. "You'll turn into a chicken if you keep this up!"_

_Fūjin thought he heard the brown-eyed girl growl in defiance as she crossed her arms over her small frame. "Well, you'll turn into one, big noodle!"_

"_You two, shush!" an older girl roared over the clamor at the table, wearing what appeared to be a cooking apron, as she turned her attention from the kitchenette to the squabbling children. "The both of you keep this up, and you won't get to eat dinner." She gave the two bickering kids a withering glare that had them instantly cowed. Subdued, the noisy blond sat back down in his chair._

_Naruto pursed his lips, blue eyes dimming a bit. "…Sorry, Shizuka-neechan…"_

_The younger girl turned her eyes to the floor. "…"_

_Shizuka, as what the God of Wind recalled as her name, cleared her throat. "I'm waiting for an apology, Hotaru."_

"_...I'm sorry," Hotaru despondently piped up, all exuberance zapped dry._

_The oldest in the room harrumphed. "Hmph. We're supposed to be family, and not be at each other's throats. How about I fix up some chicken soba as a compromise? Deal?" No response. "Deal?" she stressed._

"_Deal," the two chorused without much enthusiasm._

"_What seems to be the problem here, Shizuka-chan?"_

_The new, but gruff, voice made all three of the Sandaime's wards peer up at him as he crossed the open threshold into the kitchen._

"_Oh, it's not a problem, Ojiisama," the elder brunette waved off the common tiff between clashing personalities, sweeping the issue under the rug. The fourteen-year-old fished around the cupboards for a moderate-sized pot, walked over to the sink and filled it almost close to the top with water._

"_Hm…" Somehow, the Sarutobi clan head did not seem too convinced. The dull throb returned with a vengeance from several minutes earlier. "I think I'm going to bed a bit early, kids. I've had a long day." The weary look magnified his weathered features as he turned away and walked upstairs to the sweet comfort of his king-sized bed. It was a good idea for him to still have two residences, in the event that he had to stay extra late at the Hokage Tower._

"_Good night," came the trio of murmurs. The atmosphere grew flat in the wake of their grandfatherly figure's slow trudge upstairs. The only sound that permeated the room was the sizzling due to the cold water meeting the heating stove panels._

_The blue-eyed ball of sunshine then perked up. No need to get all moody. "Say, do any of you wanna read?"_

"_You, read?" Shizuka snorted. "I thought we couldn't use those two words together in the same sentence." The smirk on her face indicated that she merely jested with the boy. Hotaru hid her snicker under the sleeve of her red shirt._

"_Hey, I'm trying, okay?" the blond—who surprisingly stood out amid the two brunettes—defended in a whine. "I was a street kid until Jijii took me in some time ago. Cut me some slack, because no one wanted to teach me a thing!" He then turned to his adoptive sister. "Same could be said to you, Hotaru."_

"_Well, don't look at me, Naruto," she deflected, feeling affronted. "I knew how to read by the time Jiichan adopted me." She placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand. "I still don't know how I ended up here," she continued, a small smile managing to come across her lips after her bewildered expression melted away, "but I'm happy now."_

_The blond boy hid his pout until he put on a fragile smile. A simple handicap could easily be turned into a forte with enough perseverance. "But, that won't matter in the end, because I'm going to be Hokage someday, and I'll find a way to beat the odds!"_

_He was met with silence and two pensive looks thrown his way._

"_You…" Shizuka started before owlishly blinking her hazel-colored eyes._

"…_want to be Hokage…" the younger of the two girls finished, mimicking the elder brunette's actions, "just like Hiruzen-jiichan?"_

"_Well, yeah!" Naruto boisterously exclaimed. "They were the greatest! Especially the Yondaime! I hope to one day pass all of them!" For emphasis, he stuck out a balled-up fist, eyes burning aglow with the Will of Fire that permeated his being. "I want to be the best!"_

"_At what?"_

"_Eh?" His older sibling's question threw him off track for a moment, his arm slacking a slight amount. "Well, I want to be the best at a lot of stuff."_

"_That's not answering my question." Slowly, she stirred the pot of boiling water, waiting for the stringy, wiggly noodles to settle._

"_Well, I want to be the best in everything!" he childishly uttered._

"_You can't be the best at everything, Naruto," she pragmatically pointed out while adding in various seasonings from the pantry. "That's asking for the moon. It's impossible." She took a whiff of the broth. "People—ninja included—can do well in a lot of things, but we all have flaws, too." She opted to stay a civilian, even though that population took a lower priority when juxtaposed to the heart of their foundation, because blood and gore just made her nauseous and hurl._

"…" _Suddenly, a sly grin made its way onto the bewhiskered child's face. He never settled well with what people told him he could or could not do. "…Watch me. I'm gonna do great things!"_

_When he spoke, people started to listen…_

Fūjin refocused his mind back into the spirit of his being, having seen enough through the perspectives of their endorsers. Having a glimpse into that particular household all but cemented his selection. Ironically enough, the God of Wind felt compelled to pick the son of his dear brother's champion. _'Uzumaki Naruto-kun, with my trust and blessing, I hope you discover my gift to your kind…when the time is right…'_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sliding action of the shōji leading into the main chamber of his temple.

In the opening of the entryway stood a relatively young-looking woman—around the appearance of an adolescent female, no less—with a black sodenashi tucked into a turquoise hakama, but, unlike the seated deity, her style of dress resembled more of a shrine maiden interlaced with a theater performer, what with her geta giving her a few centimeters in height and the flare at the bottom of the material. A bit of her upper thighs showed through the stitched openings at the waist region. Her platinum-blonde hair was braided in a long ponytail down to the center of her back, but two stray bangs contoured to her delicate features.

"Father, you seem troubled," she spoke with a kind affection, her ice-blue eyes alight with worry.

Fūjin shook his head. Just like a chip off the old block. "Your perception is uncanny, my daughter."

"Well, I came from your energy, after all."

Fūka, his daughter, a lesser seraph of the Sixth Sphere of the Ethereal Plane, was made in the Wind God's image and with his own power. In the wake of the events after Armageddon, the gods of the Heavens, once re-assimilated, crafted entities out of their own vision to maintain order in the chaotic turmoil of the universe. They had felt that, with only five figures, their attention would be too divided; hence, for that reason, the mythological creatures and social hierarchies were created as the universal watchdogs to monitor the rise of any other disturbances. On the bottom tier of the Heavens, the cherubim and seraphim were appointed as messengers and the telecommunications link among the other Spheres of Influence that made up their celestial caste system.

Either way, the younger of the two felt troubled and plagued with a sense of foreboding and decided to see if talking with her father remedied her plight. She sensed almost the same things that her creator did.

Not one to deny comfort, Fūjin patted on the wood beside him, indirectly telling her to sit beside him. "Please, relax, Fūka. I know you have traveled pretty far to come and see me."

She complied by sitting in seiza-style. The wind-elemental gently knelt on the floor, folding her legs underneath her thighs, while resting her buttocks on her heels in a V-shaped pattern. Placing her hands on her knees, she turned her head to the left. "So, what has disrupted your meditation?"

For the second time that day, the placid god heaved an airy sigh. "It pains me to admit that…there is something amiss with this entire ordeal," he confessed, placing his clapped hands to his mouth in the motions of praying.

Fūjin's daughter looked bewildered, given the inquisitive shine in her frosty eyes. "How so?"

"Well," the Wind God began, "the flow of Nature feels as if the balance has been upset, for reasons beyond our understanding." He and his brethren that make up the Godai Seijin were neither omniscient nor omnipresent. Even the greatest of threats have somehow managed to elude their vigilance.

'_I have to wonder, though,'_ he thought to himself, _'why the Virtues and Powers seemed to overlook the actions influenced by evil…'_

Placed directly above the Sixth Sphere were, quite obviously, the residents of the Fifth Sphere, comprised of the Virtues and Powers that held the duty to supervise the movements of the cosmic bodies in order to ensure that the universe remained _in order_.

For a group that had the responsibilities as the heavens' watchful eye, Fūjin casually surmised, they surely did a spectacularly poor job at it…or the information link between the lower spheres had been compromised or never made it to the upper echelons in the Second Sphere, where he and his fellow deities assumed the roles of de facto heads that presided over the day-to-day affairs in the Nexus and the other realms, to guarantee that their creations kept content and enjoyed their proper positions. The whole of the Ethereal Plane, in fact, tended to take the path of least resistance and respect positions of authority, as opposed to their wily counterparts that paralleled them in the Netherrealm, or Hell, according to some human folklore, who favored underhanded deception to rise in the ranks and followed the unwritten code to 'eat, or be eaten.' In a sense, the evil creatures fought to gain a reputation and become feared for their display of power; however, when an entity's power diminished, or if its reputation weakened among the throngs of demons, the individual in question had a high chance of being overthrown.

"So…" Fūka chimed in after the small lapse in their conversation, "do you want me to look into the Fifth Sphere for possible treason or sabotage?"

"Personally, I do not feel the need for you to investigate, my daughter," he assuaged, "but I feel that our network is a bit…out of touch, as it were."

Frantically pattering feet had cut off Fūka's next sentence as a frosty-haired girl around her age rounded the corner and dashed into the open shōji without introduction, out of breath, her aquamarine-colored kimono fluttering about from her hasty movements. "Fūka-chan, there you are!" she rowdily exclaimed, clearly interrupting the father-daughter moment when the younger girl looked in her direction. "I was looking all over for you!" Upon closer inspection, the elegant style of dress made the two of them wonder how she managed to get around in such a manner, without tearing the fabric or falling over the embroidered cloth.

The wind-infused cherub took in one, long breath and noisily exhaled through her nose into a grumble. "Fūmi-san? I told you I was going to see my father." She then apologetically turned to the one who blew breath into her. "My sincerest apologies for my friend."

Fūjin allowed a diminutive smile grace his normally calm-looking face, waving off the disturbance. He grew desensitized to them. "No worries, Fūka. Given how her mother lurks around my under-temple waterfall, I mind not of disruptions. In fact, I generally welcome them. It breaks the monotony."

"Okay," the celeste blue-eyed newcomer softly uttered, cheeks puffing out in embarrassment. "I promise I won't touch anything, Fūjin-sama."

Fūjin just shook his head, braided ponytail swaying in opposite directions. Seeing the modestly-dressed Fūmi, who sported the sea-foam-green kimono with fanned-out sleeves, made him think about his ditzy compatriot—her mother, Suijin.

The Water Goddess and her child represented the epitome of simple, innocent and free-spirited, and had to have a hand held when the other gods discussed pertinent matters. On the other hand, in rare moments, they possessed shrewd insight that made even a few other gods on the Divine Council to second-guess their solutions when it came down to fixing problems with Suijin's occasional simple thinking—in essence, the Goddess of Water employed the use of common sense and often went with the flow, a characteristic that her appointed element personified.

Her spiteful side made Fūjin slightly shudder in retrospection. _'And to think that you would never see that side of hers…'_ When pushed into anger, the water-elemental tended to act withdrawn to the point that her often-bubbly personality froze over into a detached, frosty demeanor. He remembered a time when the easygoing divinity waged an hour-long fight with her younger sibling, Hijin, the effervescent firecracker that usually got provoked the easiest. _'Hn…Fiery, hot-headed passion, indeed…'_

"Say, Father, why were you snooping around Hijin-sama's patron territory, anyway?" Fūka bizarrely inquired, interrupting his errant musings once more.

"Well, I—"

For the third time in over an Earthrealm-hour, the white-haired god saw—and heard—a four-legged humanoid trod into his domain, hooves clacking in a steady rhythm across the floorboards. The man's lower half had a furry, mahogany-toned flank similar to that of an equine and matched his shaggy hair and rugged beard. Evidently male, the new arrival's upper torso was humanlike and kept bare, displaying well-defined abdominal muscles and toned pectorals.

Fūjin warily observed the centaurian creature from the Fifth Sphere, noting the hardened gleam in the man's green eye. "You bring word from the lower Sphere, I take it?" he ventured with a query.

The quadruped that easily stood out as the tallest in the now-crowded room—at a little over three meters—started to kneel down on his forelegs in a custom bow that their race practiced. "Fūjin-sama, I, Masao, assigned commander of the Fifth Sphere, have come to you to not only apologize for the break in communiqué, but to also inform you that we have run afoul into a situation."

There it was; the strange vibe that permeated the air like a hanging cloud of fog. "Elaborate," he commanded with an edge to his tone.

Masao felt the pressure from the sharpened gaze exuded by the God of the Zephyrs, a lone bead of sweat cascading down his temple. He hoped that Fūjin did not shoot the messenger. "It would appear that Shinnok has made his move on Earthrealm. We await your orders."

"Have other envoys been sent to the others?" Once he received a nod in the affirmative, the white-eyed deity's mind fired on all cylinders for a plan. "All right. We will convene in the Nexus. Be on standby for further assignments, and make sure," for emphasis, the tension in the room thickened when he administered his order, "_nothing_ evades your eyes."

"Y-Yes, sir," the centaur stammered, turning around and galloping away in his hasty exit.

Fūjin hummed out the growing unease resting in his stomach. "…It would appear that I must lock down my Sky Temple for the time being, my daughter."

Fūka took the anvil-sized hint. "Do what you must, Father. Fūmi-san and I will leave at once." She then stood up and grabbed her friend's hand in an unanticipated fashion. "Come on. Let's go."

Surprised, the water seraph felt the tug and could do nothing but stumble out behind her partner in crime. "Whoa, hey! Don't tear my kimono!"

XXXXXXXXXX

(21 October, Outskirts of the Land of Fire, 1400 hours)

Shimura Danzō rubbed his sore wrists, elated to have his chakra-scrambling confines removed by his impromptu savior. The war hawk indifferently observed the robe-wearing man with the pallid face—this Seigi character, who he felt was an obvious pseudonym. He appeared thoughtful, those glowing eyes radiating with a power far beyond human comprehension.

"I don't suppose you have a reason for coming to my aid, I presume?" the militaristic shinobi asked. It was not like he needed it. In the event of his absence, or if he were to ever be ousted by the very village he protected from the shadows, then his loyal Root soldiers would try all in their power to throw off the trail to find him.

"Was this what your heart truly desires, Danzō?" the headdress-bearing entity countered, not even considering a response. He was just another pawn on the playing field, in his eyes.

The visible eye of the Root Division Leader imperceptibly narrowed a tiny fraction. "Just what is your game? I never really bought the name you have paraded around me, by the way."

'_So…this piece is a rational-thinking one…'_ the timeless man mused to himself. "If you are so inclined to discover my identity," he began in a disparaging tone, "I am Shinnok, and I once protected your home world, but that was many ages ago."

"Shinnok? I have never heard of that name before. Surely, you jest that gods walk among us."

"Oh, not at all," the Fallen God Shinnok chided, like he addressed a kid, even though it was a warped sense of a lie. "The world was a much safer place when I overlooked things…"

'_And, like always, Raiden thwarts me time and again,'_ the deity sourly thought, clenching a gloved fist. He then turned his attention to the silent figure standing a good distance away—the redhead that got sent, too, just out of being in close proximity with Shinnok's space-warping teleportation. His eyes tore through the man's soul as he restlessly tried to stay steady, but to no effect.

Kachū Takeshi, on trial and put to death for attempting to do bodily harm to Konoha's precious demon, kept his stare even, but his body twitched from the discomfort in those mighty eyes.

"You…" the self-proclaimed Protector of Earth flatly remarked, "your heart is weak, and your mind is clouded. What makes you think you're worth every bit of my attention?"

"I-I want to expose that demon and show his true nature to my village!" the former proctor sneered.

"…I take one look at you, Takeshi, and do you know what I see?" He was answered with a hesitant shake of his head. "You lack resolve…and above all…hatred…"

Before the youngest of the bunch knew it, Shinnok blurred right in front of him, with a knife-edge chop already held out at a forty-five-degree angle, violet energy drifting off the spread digits like iridescent smoke. Takeshi stumbled back, feeling a strange pain erupt from the center of his head. His body shook around and convulsed until blood trickled in a thin line around his jawline. Slowly, with the sound of something wet and sticky sliding against itself, the top half of the redhead's skull shifted forward and then dropped like a dead weight, the corpse falling almost at the same time, blood gushing like a fountain on the stained ground.

"Such petty spite," he spat. "His heart wasn't strong enough. Such is the natural order of all things, when the weak get consumed by the apex predators…" The God of the Underworld turned at a profile, admiring the roaring waterfall a few meters northward. Ah, the nostalgia! "I shall be watching your every move, Shimura Danzō. I have given you the tools to succeed; the rest is on your own. However," his pupil-less eyes grew to slits as an ominous sensation overcame the normally detached ninja, "you still owe me, and I will come to collect in due time, once you have achieved your objectives."

When the Fallen Apostle vanished without a trace, the war hawk slowly emitted a breath that he unconsciously held in. Several seconds later, at a seemingly convenient time to show up, a horde of masked ninja—roughly one hundred strong—appeared in the blink of an eye, bowing at their fearless leader's feet.

Groveling at his feet were his most trusted soldiers that have done very despicable deeds to keep their homeland secure and free from domestic and international threats. _'Let us see if the tree can stand without the roots, after all I have singlehandedly done to perpetuate their idyllic era.'_

"Sir," a nameless agent spoke up, "your orders?"

"…I feel the need to call in a favor from someone in the past. We are to head to Ta no Kuni and regroup, until the time is right." The decision to lay low and off the radar stood prominent in his calculating mind. It was ironic, in a way, to go to the very same ninja he framed, for a price.

"Yes, sir!" the interim spokesman exuberantly cried.

As the small battalion of trained assassins mobilized, along with their spoils from the land that exiled their chief, Danzō neutrally glanced around; feeling a sense of renewed faith to claim what was his. _'Orochimaru…it is time that _I_ collect on _our_ deal…'_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**A/N:** Well, here's the Interlude, which is something I haven't done, yet, but it does bear mention that these segments are relevant to the storyline. In a way, I divided the third chapter into three parts – A (Part I of the flashback mission), B (the flashback finale into the present time), and C (the omake-esque piece), just to keep you all from reading a mega-update like what I've been doing for TFD. I apologize that the story is 'dragging,' but hey, a guy's gotta lay some foundation before building a house.

You get a small window-view into how the Mortal Kombat world predated the Narutoverse. It's just a snippet, compared to what's really going on. More will be touched on later, in addition to the makeup of the Ethereal Plane.

I guess I also lied about Naruto not showing up. Oh, well, you get a glimpse into his persona for the moment, but it will get further refined in later installments.

At any rate, I feel that it's time that I speed things up, shall I? In that case, in light of the groundwork laid out in these updates, prepare for a few jumps forward in time in the next two chapters, and the scope will turn back toward the hero of the story, but do bear in mind, though, that this story, on the whole, has other goings-on outside of Konoha. You can't just read Naruto _for_ Naruto.

**Before I sign off on this update, be mindful of the changes to the titular characters for this first part of the series. Remember: the character slots at the top of a fic does not equate to a pairing; rather, they're merely reserved for a protagonist and a deuteragonist, and in this case, Hiruzen, for the moment, is the more prominent character and the vessel of change for the main character's shaping of his childhood. Just…trust me on this one, okay? I promise you that shōnen-ai will not ever be written by these fingers, even if someone holds me as a hostage and at gunpoint to write such an abomination. Furthermore, I have decided on the main pairing for the series, so bear with me when I do get to that point, okay?**

As always, questions, comments and concerns are appreciated in your reviews. If you're compelled to do so, that is, then feel free. Take care, and enjoy your day (or night, depending on your time zone), ladies and gents!

On a side note, I tried to go for a double-release, but due to pressing real-life issues, this is as good as it gets. TFD will hopefully be out by next week, hoping and willing, before the New Year.

_No trivia for this chapter. That is all. Take care and enjoy your holiday season. See you all in the New Year!_

_Next time: Seals, High Heels & G-Strings, where a lot of crazy things happen…with a dash of normality…_

**Kanji/Rōmaji/Jutsu Guide**

袖なし **Sodenashi**: sleeveless kimono top

五大聖神 **Godai Seijin**: "Five Great Holy Deities"

風羽歌 **Fūka**: "Wind Feather Song"; the name of Fūjin's daughter

降雨美 **Fūmi**: "Beautiful Rainfall"; the name of Suijin's daughter

田の国 **Ta no Kuni**: Rice Field Country; in English TV, Land of Rice Paddies


End file.
